Saudades
by Mistress Sezza
Summary: Saudades - "a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves." How do you survive being hunted? How do you survive losing someone to a hunter? Sam and Daniel may just find out. Set season 7. Tag to Death Knell. Sam/Daniel. Rated M for strong language, blood and violence, and sexual content.
1. Epithymía

**Chapter 1. Epithymía**

_/n/ (Greek)_ desire, yearning, to wish for

* * *

Daniel sighed as Sarah disappeared past the airport security gates. He was bone-tired; Daniel wanted nothing more than to go home and pass out on his bed for the rest of the week. He pressed his palms into his eyes, trying to push the heaviness from them. He made his way back to his car, absentmindedly contemplating the events of the past few months since he descended. He felt like he had regained most of his memories of his life before, but having no recollection of his time being ascended was frustrating him to no end. He knew there were things he had known, things he _should_ know, that would be helpful to many people, but the more he tried to remember, the angrier he got at himself that he couldn't.

Daniel's eyes were already trying to close before he had even left the carpark, and he decided he needed a distraction to keep him awake on the drive home. Daniel punched in a familiar number on his cell phone and put it on speaker.

She picked up on the third ring. "Hey Sam."

"Hey Daniel. You taking Sarah to the airport?"

"Yeah, just dropped her off. I'm heading home now. I could use some stimulating conversation to keep me awake."

Sam hummed a noise of concern. "You must be tired still."

"Exhausted, really." Daniel chuckled humourlessly.

"Oh Daniel, you should have let me drive."

"S'alright. Hey, uh, how'd things with Pete go?"

There was a pregnant pause before Sam answered. "He's in the hospital, his doctor said he'll be fine. Major Davis is, uh, briefing him on the program. They won't tell him everything, hopefully just enough to get him to leave it alone. He'll have to sign a non-disclosure."

Daniel's grip tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles going white. When he spoke, he forced his words to sound casual. "Well, that's great. I'm sure you're happy that you don't have to make up stuff about deep space telemetry anymore, huh?"

He was met with silence, and Daniel frowned, wondering if he'd lost the connection. "Sam?"

"I...broke it off with him."

Daniel almost crashed into the car in front of him. His heart soared in his chest, feeling lighter than it had in years. "Oh?" His voice was way too high and hopeful, and he cleared his throat, lowering his tone a few octaves, and tried again, "Oh."

"I just...I realised he was right, I would never be able to share every part of my life with him, and he would never be able to trust me. It could only end in disaster. And the thing is, I'll never be able to share that part of my life with anyone unless I dated someone from the program. And who would want to date a girl with so many secrets? It's different for men in the military, their wives just seem to get used to it. But no guy is gonna be happy with a woman like that."

"I would." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, and he held his breath, silently berating himself. He released his breath in a sigh of relief when Sam chuckled.

"I know you would, Daniel. You're not like other guys." Her voice was soft, coloured by sadness, and Daniel chewed at his lip.

"I'm coming over."

"What? No! Daniel, you need to sleep. I'm fine, really! You need to go home and rest."

"I'll be about 15."

"Danieeeeel." She whined his name, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Ben and Jerry's?"

The phone made a loud crackle, which he realised was Sam snorting. "And a bottle of red. The Lonely Singles Combo."

"Well, we might be single, but we won't be alone."

"Daniel...thanks."

Daniel couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "Anytime, Sam." Daniel bid her goodbye and ended the call. He tried to wrestle the grin on his face into a more sensible expression, but his foot may have tensed on the accelerator just a smidge.

Daniel pulled into Sam's driveway 20 minutes later, a plastic bag full of ice cream in one hand, and a brown paper bag in the other. Sam greeted him at the door with a smile. She was dressed only in three-quarter sweats and a tank top, but the sight of her still made Daniel's heart beat a little faster.

Moving through Sam's house with familiarity, Daniel set his treats down on her kitchen bench. "Okay, I got Cookie Dough, Caramel Chunk, and Fudge Brownie." Daniel pulled each container from the plastic bag as Sam grabbed two wine glasses from her cupboard. "Brownie." She replied instantly, cutlery chinking as she plucked two spoons from her drawer. Daniel put the Cookie Dough one in her freezer for later, then picked up his caramel ice cream and the bottle of wine and they headed into her living room.

"You didn't have to come, you know. I would have been okay. And I'm sure you'd rather be at home sleeping." She sat facing him, cross-legged on her couch, as she popped open the lid of her ice cream. Daniel leant forward to open the bottle of wine, pouring them each a glass, then opened his own tub of ice cream.

"Sam, you just dumped your boyfriend after he stalked you, where else would I be?" Daniel shot her a grin, and she smiled down at her ice cream container. She stabbed at the frozen cream with her spoon, "I still can't believe he did that. Apparently, someone at the FBI tried looking up my records. I guess he had a buddy do some digging." She popped the spoon upside down in her mouth, sucking on it for a moment as she stared at a point somewhere above Daniel's head. "I guess I should have known, really. He's a cop, after all. But he just seemed so nice, and I guess I thought it would be different." She sighed, taking a long sip of her wine. "I should have known better."

Daniel beat the sugary cream in his tub, trying to make it melt faster. "You took a chance, Sam. You can't blame yourself for trying. Besides, if the guy is dumb enough to let someone as amazing as you go, then good riddance to him."

She laughed at that, and the sight lit up his heart. "Thanks, Daniel." She plopped a cushion over his thighs, then flopped onto her back, her head resting in his lap. Daniel felt his pulse jump.

"Hey, maybe we should start a Stargate dating site. I'm sure we could convince one of the IT guys to build a program." Daniel forced a laugh; the idea of her dating someone they both worked with sitting uncomfortably in his stomach. Especially if that someone happened to be a certain Commanding Officer.

"I think you'd be a little in over your head if you signed up for something like that. You'd be inundated with requests from the whole science division. Not to mention probably most of the marines too."

Her smile widened into a grin. "Yeah right. I think you'd be the one with a flooded inbox."

Daniel scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I don't do dating sites."

Sam pointed her spoon at him accusingly. "You don't do _dating_. Seriously, Sergent Westerholm asked me the other day if you batted for the other team."

Daniel almost choked on his mouthful of ice cream. "W-what?! What did you tell her?"

"Well, I reminded her that you were married to a woman at one point," Her smile turned mischievous and her blue eyes twinkled as she glanced up at him. "so obviously, you would at least swing both ways."

"Why you!" Daniel snatched her tub of ice cream from her hands in retaliation, sticking a huge spoonful in his mouth as he glared at her. She laughed, sitting up and twisting around to try to steal back her dessert. Daniel held it up in the air out of her reach, ignoring her cries of protest as she stretched across him. Realising the only way she would ever reach it was if she clambered over his lap, she gave up, taking his abandoned caramel flavoured tub instead and digging into it with her spoon.

They fell into a familiar pattern; the easy flow of conversation and teasing remarks came so naturally to the two best friends that one would be forgiven for thinking they had spent their entire lives together. It was late in the night when Daniel drained the last of the wine in his glass, leaning forward to place the cup on the coffee table next to the finished pints of ice cream and the empty wine bottle. The alcohol warmed his stomach and made his head buzz pleasantly, and Sam's head in his lap only added to the tingling sensation spreading over his skin. He knew he probably shouldn't have drunk as much as he did, but Sam had been a bad influence on him, and it had been worth it to see the smile on her face and hear her laughter. He hoped he had succeeded in chasing away all unpleasant thoughts of Pete from her mind.

The room sort of swayed across his vision, like there was a delay between his eyes and his brain, and his movements felt clumsy and disjointed. Perhaps they shouldn't have polished off the whole bottle. Daniel's fingers found their way into Sam's hair, stroking lightly through the golden strands as his other hand fisted against his cheek, propping his head up so he could watch her eyes flutter open and closed. His eyelids were so heavy; the wine they had consumed only compounding his tiredness. She hummed lightly in contentment. "I really missed this."

Daniel's hand stilled in her hair as she opened her eyes fully and turned to look up at him. "That year you were gone was the worst, Daniel. I missed being able to talk to you. I hated the team dinners without you. Every time I went through the Gate it felt...wrong." Daniel's heart clenched; he hated her looking so sad and forlorn, and he hated himself even more for being the cause of it.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, the anguish evident on his face. Sam sat up, turning to face him. She slipped her hand into his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Don't apologise, Daniel. Don't apologise for being you." She gifted him with a soft smile, her cobalt irises shining in the dim lighting. "I'm just real glad you're back."

Daniel didn't know what came over him, whether it was the wine, or the warmth of her hand in his, or the way she was looking at him, her eyes full of so much hope and happiness, but he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers.

It felt like electricity passed between their lips, and then she softened, her mouth melding to his. He inhaled deeply through his nose as their mouths moved against each other, his hands coming up of their own accord to cradle her face, his fingers sliding into the softness of her hair. He felt one of her hands slide against his chest, fisting in the fabric of his shirt. His tongue swiped across her lips, tasting the lingering bitterness of the wine, and when she parted her lips for him, he tasted the sweetness of chocolate as he delved into her mouth.

A tiny moan escaped from the back of Sam's throat, and Daniel had to break away before he lost all form of self-control. She peered up at him, a bewildered expression on her face, and Daniel's heart sank like a stone as he realised he had no excuse for his actions, no way to talk himself out of what he'd just done. He yanked his hands away from her like he'd been burned, and she released her hold on his shirt.

"Sam, I-I-I'm so sorry. I don't...I don't know why I just did that." That was a blatant lie. He knew _exactly_ why he had done that. "I'm sorry, I-I guess I've had too much wine." It was a pathetic excuse and he knew it.

Sam's mouth opened and closed a few times, her expression flickering from one emotion to another as she tried to work out how to respond. "Well, at least I can tell Sergent Westerholm she had it all wrong." She gave him a shell-shocked smile, but Daniel groaned in despair, covering his face with his hands. He felt like throwing up.

"Daniel," she called gently, taking his wrists and delicately pulling them away from his face. Her cobalt blue gaze pierced him, boring into his soul, and Daniel's breath caught in his throat at the intensity of it. "I didn't say stop…"

It was like gravity was drawing them together, an invisible force pulling them closer and closer until Daniel crashed his lips to hers, almost shaking in the intensity of his desire. She opened instantly for him, clutching at his hair as he pillaged her mouth, their tongues battling for dominance. His hands slid up her thighs to grasp her hips, gently tugging her closer. She willingly complied, swinging her leg around to straddle his lap, her arms sliding around his neck as he pulled her flush against his body. His arm snaked around her waist, his other hand travelling up her back to press her closer. She shifted in his lap, her hips rolling against his and eliciting a growl from low in his throat as she brushed over his growing arousal.

"Sam, wait." Reluctantly, he pulled back, grabbing both of her hands in his and tucking them against his chest so that her touch couldn't further stoke his desire. "We shouldn't. You're…you just broke up with your boyfriend, and you're sad and we're drunk and-and I'm taking advantage of you and that's not how I…how I wanted this to go."

Her eyes raked over his face, studying him. She pulled her right hand out from under his and reached up to brush her fingertips across his cheek. "You're not taking advantage of me, Daniel. Not if I want this too."

"You-you do?" Daniel squeaked, his voice much higher than he intended. Sam cocked her head to the side, a smirk crawling across her features. "Daniel, I've had a crush on you since before I met you." She prohibited any further discussion by sealing her mouth over his.

Whether it was the alcohol, the sleep deprivation, or just his lack of willpower, Daniel found he could not pull himself away from her clutching hands and desperate mouth. Her hands wound through his hair, tugging at the strands, and he moaned into her mouth. His fingers slipped under her top, seeking the soft mounds of flesh that he so desperately wanted to taste. A strangled noise emitted from deep in the back of his throat when he realised that she wasn't wearing a bra.

He pushed her top up, his mouth leaving her lips and trailing down, down, until he reached the soft underside of her breast. He dipped his head, swirling his tongue around the sensitive nub, before taking it in his mouth. He heard her gasp above him as his teeth grazed her pert nipple, her back arched and her head thrown back as a shiver ran up her spine.

With a sharp tug on his hair, she pulled his mouth back up to hers, her tongue delving into it as she took control. Her hands worked steadily, unbuttoning his shirt and popping the button on his trousers. Her fingernails scraped over his chest, making him gasp, and his hands cupped the firm curve of her ass, squeezing lightly as he stood, her legs wrapping around his waist.

Blindly, he stumbled down the hall and to her bedroom, bumping into walls and inconveniently placed furniture, both of them losing articles of clothing along the way. His knees collided with the foot of the bed and then they were both falling. He leant back to tug her yoga pants the rest of the way off, then paused to drink in the sight of her naked form, clad only in tiny black panties. Her skin glimmered in the soft, silver moonlight, her tongue peeking out to wet her lips, making them shimmer; her eyes were so dark with desire they were almost black, and her nipples were taut with arousal.

She could see he was hesitating, an internal struggle warring within him as he contemplated what they were about to do. She reached for him, her hand sliding over the firm muscle of his chest to cup his neck and pull him down to her. "Daniel, I need you. Please." She whispered, and that was all it took.

She brought their mouths together again, their hands roaming each other's bodies, exploring, caressing, teasing. He drew her breast into his mouth again, his tongue teasing the hard bud. His hand came up to play with the other, rolling the rosebud between his fingers until her back bowed and a low moan escaped her lips. He slithered further down her body, showering her soft skin with kisses and caresses. He paused over the apex of her thighs, knowing she could feel his hot breath through the thin material of her panties. She lifted herself onto her elbows and he gazed up at her, meeting her darkened eyes and appreciating the flush across her face. She bit down on her bottom lip, a needy keen issuing from the back of her throat.

Daniel's fingers curled around the hem of her panties, sliding them so slowly, teasingly, down over her skin. His lips followed their trail, planting open-mouthed kisses down her thigh, her knee, her calf, her ankle. When he had finally removed her last article of clothing, he began his teasing ascent, trailing his hands and mouth back up her other leg, his tongue darting out to taste her inner thigh, until she was a writhing ball of need beneath him.

When his mouth finally descended over where she so desperately wanted him, she almost screamed; her spine arced off the bed, her hands fisting in the sheets. Her small mewls and sighs became louder, wilder, as his tongue delved into her. His hand wrapped around her thigh, bracing it against his shoulder, and his other hand trailed over her skin, his fingers teasing at her opening. His tongue lathed at the bundle of nerves, swirling and circling and sucking the sensitive bud into his mouth as he pressed one long finger into her, followed by a second.

Sam was already coiled so tightly from his teasing that it didn't take long for her to come undone in his expert hands, her body shuddering under his ministrations, his name uttered from her lips like a prayer as he built her up to her peak. All the muscles in her body tensed, then released as she cried out from the intensity of her climax. Daniel covered her body with his, his fingers gently caressing her cheek as she panted hard against his shoulder. He wanted to burn this image into his brain; her hair all mussed, her face and neck flushed and her pupils dilated with lust, her lips red and bitten.

"Daniel." His name was barely a breath from her lips, and her hands slid up the nape of his neck to pull him down to her, their mouths joining as he settled between her thighs. His hands slid over hers, pulling them from his face as he filled the gaps between her fingers. He pushed them into the bed above her head, hands clasped, as he broke their kiss and locked eyes with her, wanting to watch her face as he slowly slid into her.

Daniel grunted as her warmth enfolded him; he slid almost all the way out, then snapped his hips up into her, making her cry out. He repeated the motion, releasing her hands so he could slide his arm under her waist, lifting her hips up to meet his and thrusting down into her harder, deeper. Her cries grew louder every time he drove into her, and her hands scrabbled at his back, nails scraping up his spine.

The feel of her, tight around him, and the sight of her withering in ecstasy below him was too much for his control to handle, and Daniel's hips stuttered, his movements becoming faster and more erratic. His forehead fell to her chest as he exhaled a strangled groan, her hands grabbing at his back, his arms, his hair. She tugged at the strands and he brought his head up to crash his lips to hers, her mouth vibrating against his as he swallowed her moan. Their kisses became clumsy and frantic as his pace increased, until all he could focus on was the feel of her clenching and unclenching around him, and they froze with their lips barely parted, panting and moaning into each other's mouths.

"Oh God! Daniel!" Sam cried out, undulating under him as her body coiled. She arched, her spine taut as a bowstring as her walls clamped down on him, and she came with a shuddering cry. Daniel let go then, pumping into her viciously as he followed her over the edge. Blood thundered in his ears as he came with a shout, almost drowning out his cry of, "God, Sam! I love you!"

He just barely managed to catch himself on his elbows as he collapsed, spent. Bracing himself above her, he dared to glance up at her face, seeing the startled look in her eyes. Silently cursing himself, he rolled off of her, onto his back. He ran a hand over his face, mopping the sweat from his brow as he tried to get his breathing under control.

From the corner of his eye, he saw her roll on to her side to face him, her head propped up in her hand. Her other hand reached out to him, her fingers dancing up his side, tracing the contours of his abdomen; her feather-light touch making him shiver as the sweat cooled on his skin.

His face was contorted in a self-deprecating frown, and his heart still hammered in his chest, though not completely because of the vigorous exercise he had just endured. "Sam, I..." Her finger on his lips stopped him. She shifted towards him, her warm, naked body pressing against his side. She pillowed her head on his shoulder, her finger returning to draw lazy patterns on his chest, and his arm automatically curled around her back, his fingers tracing over the dimple that sat just above the curve of her bottom.

"It's alright Daniel," she murmured, her lips brushing against his skin as she spoke, "I'm...very glad you came over tonight." She pressed a kiss to his chest, then snuggled back down in his arms. He stared down at the top of her head, trying to decipher the meaning in her words. She was glad? What did that mean? Did it mean she just enjoyed the sex? Was she glad he had helped her take her mind off of Pete? Or was she glad because it was _him_? Was she glad because of what he had confessed to her?

The questions circled in Daniel's head, round and round like a dog chasing its own tail. But her fingers continued their dance across his skin, her body warm against his side, and his eyelids were already growing heavy, and soon, his jumbled thoughts ceased their endless circling.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

Daniel awoke as sunlight streamed into his eyes, and he turned his face deeper into his pillow with a groan. He felt like someone had stuffed cotton wool into his mouth and then cracked him over the head with a sledgehammer. His head throbbed horribly and his mouth tasted like bitter wine. _Oh. _Daniel cracked open an eye, recalling the events of last night. He twisted in the sheets, somehow having gotten under the covers during the night, or maybe Sam had wrapped the blankets around them. He spread his arm out, searching for her, but her side of the bed was cold.

Icy dread dripping down his spine, Daniel sat up and looked around, his head protesting at the motion. The room was empty, and Sam's cell phone was not on her bedside table. Turning his wrist, Daniel glanced at his watch and saw that it was already past 11 am. Knowing he had the day off, he realised Sam must have already left for work.

With another groan, Daniel kicked the sheets off him and patted the bedside table in search of his glasses, only to realise they weren't there. Daniel scrubbed a hand over his tired face and pushed out of bed, suddenly all too aware of his nakedness. He could make out a dark pile of cloth on the armchair that sat in the corner of Sam's room, and he realised she had collected and neatly folded his clothes. His glasses sat on top, and he shoved them on his face, quickly dressing in yesterday's clothes.

Tentatively, he ventured out from the bedroom, but a quick scan of the house revealed that he was, indeed, alone. He shuffled into the kitchen, intending to pour himself a cup of coffee and down some painkillers before he went home, locked himself in his room, and hid under the covers for the rest of his natural life. He flicked on the coffee pot, waiting for the dark liquid to drip down when he noticed a pink post-it note stuck to the island counter. Curious, he squinted at it:

_Daniel_

_Left for work._

_I didn't want to wake you. You need the sleep._

_Meet me for dinner tomorrow night?_

_We'll talk then, I promise._

\- _Sam_

_xx_

Daniel stared at the note a moment longer, his mouth suddenly dry. Oh God, she wanted to talk. At dinner. What did that mean? Was it a dinner between two close friends and colleagues? A dinner between two close friends who accidentally slept together and now one of them regrets it? Or, could it be, a dinner as in...a date? His optimistic heart jumped, and he mercilessly beat it back down, not daring to hope.

The coffee machine beeped behind him, and Daniel poured himself a mug. He rummaged through the cupboard above the sink, knowing where she kept the Tylenol. He popped two pills, swallowing it with a gulp of his coffee. He sighed, pushing his thumb against the space between his eyebrows, trying to alleviate the dull ache there. Two days; he knew Sam would already be at the Alpha site working on the Kull weapon, and she wasn't due back until tomorrow afternoon. He would be left alone with his thoughts for two days, going over and over the events of last night and driving himself crazy with constant worrying, wondering what she was thinking, how she felt about him. Last night, she had said she had a crush on him when they met. Was that 'had' as in past tense? Could a crush possibly last seven years? He was doubtful, and it would be two days before he could get any answers from her, if he even had the courage to ask the question.

And if he didn't get the answer he wanted, then what? Would he be able to go back to just being friends? Would he still be able to work side by side with her when he now knew what it felt like to hold her, to touch her, to be inside her? Daniel's mind wandered to the image he had ingrained in his memory – of her face, contorted in exquisite ecstasy; her body, naked beneath him; her hands, caressing his skin; her lips, calling out his name. It had been better than he had ever imagined, more amazing than it had ever been in his dreams. She had felt so right in his arms, so perfect.

Daniel hadn't thought it was possible, but his love for her seemed to have grown. It was so strong that his chest ached with her absence, and his heart threatened to revolt against his body. Oh, he was in trouble now. Things would never be the same again – not for him, at least. He had known he felt _something_ for the astrophysicist ever since he had laid eyes on her on Vis Uban, but he hadn't realised how strong that something was until he regained most of his memories back. And it hadn't been until their mission to P3X-289 that he had realised exactly what that feeling was. They'd shared a room, graciously hosted by Pallan and his lovely wife Evalla, in a town with a shrinking dome. It was there, with her bed only a foot away from his, that he had watched her sleep, her peaceful features bathed in pale moonlight that turned her golden hair silver. It was there that the desire to reach out and touch her, to run his fingers through her hair and press his lips to hers, had almost overwhelmed him. It was there that he had discovered how strong his desire for her was; an emotion unlike anything he had ever felt before. And it was there that Daniel realised that he was madly, deeply, irrevocably, in love with her.

His heart heavy with dread, Daniel tipped the remnants of his coffee down the sink, rinsed his cup, and headed for his car, locking up her place behind him. When he arrived back in his empty apartment, he flopped onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes. He had to admit, Sam was right, as she usually was – he was still exhausted. Having Osiris meddle around in his dreams had been both disturbing and draining.

Daniel had just drifted off into dreamland when his phone rang, vibrating loudly on the bed where he had thrown it. He contemplated not answering it, it was his day off after all, but his diligence got the better of him.

"Yes?" He snapped, making it clear to whoever was on the other end that he was not happy about being disturbed.

"Sorry to wake you Sleeping Beauty, but I'm gonna have to cut your R&R short." Jack's clipped tone echoed loudly in his ear.

"Why? What's happened?"

"We don't know all the details yet but, those pesky Goa'uld are at it again." There was a pause, and then, "The Alpha site has been attacked."

Daniel's heart seized. "I'm on my way." And he was out the door before he had even hung up the call.


	2. Persequeris

_**Chapter 2. Persequeris**_

_ /v/ (Latin)_ to pursue, follow; to be hunted

* * *

It was less than an hour later when Daniel, Jack and Teal'c clambered out of the dugout left by the Stargate and onto a smouldering wasteland of destruction. The area where the Alpha site had once resided was now nothing more than a crater, plumes of smoke rose from various spots among the wreckage, filling the air with the choking smell of burning wood and molten metal. Teal'c had surmised that the Tok'ra had activated the self-destruct in order to prevent any sensitive information about the research being done here from falling into enemy hands. Research that Sam had been conducting.

SG-3 soon joined them, and Jack instantly went into military mode, barking out orders.

"We'll split up, search for survivors."

Colonel Reynolds glanced around, taking in the sight of absolute destruction that surrounded them. "How could anyone have survived this?" He queried, almost absentmindedly. Daniel briefly screwed his eyes shut at the Colonel's words, the steel band that had been clamped around his heart ever since Jack's phone call this morning tightening just a little more.

Even from behind his dark sunglasses, Jack fixed the other Colonel with a hard glare.

"Start with the tree line there." He pointed to the west, completely ignoring Reynolds' comment. "Move out!"

They split off from the other SG team, heading east, picking through debris and smouldering ruins. Colonel Reynolds' words churned in Daniel's mind, haunting him. No, he was wrong. She _had_ to have survived. Sam had been in much more dire situations than this, she was tough – tougher than him, and he had come back from the dead. She was still alive. She had to be.

Daniel wiped the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Multiple fires continued to burn, and all the smoke was trapping the heat, burning his eyes and stinging his nose. Jack's radio buzzed, and Colonel Reynolds' distorted voice issued from the speaker.

"O'Neill."

Jack paused, reaching up to click the button on his radio. "Go ahead."

"We found twelve survivors but they're not in good shape." Daniel's heart leapt in his chest, suddenly beating double time.

"How bad?"

"Some can walk, but most need immediate medical attention."

"Major Carter with them?"

Daniel held his breath, and Colonel Reynolds took so long to respond that Daniel almost passed out from lack of oxygen.

"I'm afraid not."

Daniel's world fell away, his hearing deadening and his vision blurring. He vaguely heard Jack saying something to Teal'c, then jogging off in the direction they had come from, but everything sounded like he was underwater. Teal'c was standing before him, his lips moving, and Daniel focussed on them, trying to understand.

Everything rushed back up at him with sharp clarity, Teal'c's voice ringing in his ears.

"Daniel Jackson. I asked if you are alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I just…" He shook his head to try to clear it, but it only made him dizzier. Daniel felt like he had just stepped off a roller coaster – he wasn't sure if he felt more inclined to throw up or pass out. Maybe both.

The Jaffa's solid hand clasped over his shoulder, giving his whole body a slight shake. "Do not worry, Daniel Jackson. We will find her. Of this I am certain."

Daniel nodded shakily, offering Teal'c a weak smile. He wished he possessed some of the Jaffa's confidence.

Jack approached them at a light jog. "Hammond's sending SG-11 and 21 to help Reynolds with the wounded."

"So we're the only ones searching now?" Daniel frowned, rubbing at his jaw while his other arm subconsciously wrapped around his waist, the gesture a familiar comfort.

"Getting the wounded out is our first priority, Daniel. You should know that. Once the survivors are back at SCG, then the other teams can join us for search and rescue."

Daniel grunted, turning on his heel and marching away to continue sifting through the debris. He missed the concerned look Jack and Teal'c shared. He knew Jack was right, but it didn't make him feel any better. He wanted to tell everyone to drop what they are doing and start looking for Sam. He wanted to yell at Hammond to send the whole damn army if necessary. He wanted to scream, to rage, to fall to his knees and cry, but he couldn't do that. Not if Sam was out there somewhere, waiting for him to rescue her. Not if she needed him.

They continued their search, and Daniel fell into line behind Jack as the sun beat down on the backs of their necks. The pieces of obliterated trees littered the ground, the gnarled branches snagging and tearing at his trousers. Daniel glanced up ahead, spotting the large trunk of a fallen tree, just as Jack took off running.

"Jacob!"

Realising there was a person under that log, Daniel quickly followed in Jack's footsteps, Teal'c not far behind him.

The Tok'ra was alive and lucid when they reached him, but his leg had been pinned by the fallen tree. Teal'c made short work of the heavy branch, carefully lifting it from the General's leg and dropping it to the side.

"Anubis' drones…" Jacob mumbled, his voice sounding somewhat shaken.

"We know. Teal'c found a piece of their armour in the rubble."

"Take this," Jacob pressed the newly invented Kull weapon into Jack's hands, "it's not a hundred percent, but it's all we've got."

Daniel rummaged through his pack, pulling the pre-padded bandage from his emergency medical kit. He tore off the wrapping with his teeth, then gently pressed the padded side to the wound on Jacob's leg, wrapping the bandage end tightly around his calf.

"It only has a few more shots. Sam has a fully charged power unit."

Daniel's head snapped up at the mention of Sam, but Jack asked the question before Daniel could.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know." The injured man paused for a moment, swallowing hard. "I don't even know if she's still alive."

Daniel's heart sank down into his toes. His eyes went wide, glancing from Jacob to Jack. _No! It wasn't true! Don't give up Jack, she's alive! She's alive, I know it!_

"Alright, let's get you back to base so they can patch you up. Daniel, you go with him. Teal'c, a little help?" The Jaffa was already moving to help the injured General stand.

"Wait," Daniel hesitated as the others began to move off, "I-I should stay too…"

"Daniel, I need you to report to General Hammond. We're gonna need a lot more firepower if were gonna take out Anubis' goons."

Daniel scrambled after them, "But we need to find her first, Jack, we need to-"

"Daniel, would you stop being your usual argumentative self for once? Go with General Carter back to base, that's an order!" Jack snapped, jabbing his finger at Daniel's chest.

Daniel grit his teeth, pushing down the rage that was building inside him. He sulked in silence as they approached the Stargate, only casting a glare over his shoulder at Jack as he accompanied Jacob on his stretcher, and they both disappeared through the event horizon.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Daniel made his way to the infirmary, his lips moving as he ran through what he was going to say to the father of the woman he loved. He forced a tight smile as he approached Jacob's bed.

"Hey," he plopped down in the seat beside the bed, hoping he sounded nonchalant enough, "how's the leg?"

"It's getting there, slowly but surely."

"Oh yeah, slowly." Daniel scoffed, "The way you heal it'll probably take a day?" He tried to come off light and joking, but the look Jacob fixed him with told him he hadn't succeeded.

"You didn't come here to ask about my leg. You want to know what happened to Sam."

Daniel cast his eyes down, his eyebrows raising in reluctant admission. "Yeah."

Jacob paused, taking a deep breath before he began. "The base was under attack. We could hear the explosions getting closer, and the sound of scout ships approaching. We had to download the weapon design into the matrix crystal and wipe the computer memory. Sam wouldn't leave until it was done. The Supersoldier found us, and I hit it with the weapon so we could escape. The Stargate was hit, we couldn't get out. So we ran for the hills. The drone followed us."

Jacob held Daniel's gaze; the desperation in his eyes startled the younger man. "If Sam is still alive, it's still after her."

"Maybe it's just hiding, waiting for a chance to go back through the Gate." Daniel tried to keep the hope out of his voice.

"Out of all the rooms on the base, why did it come to that lab? And why did it chase us as opposed to anyone else?"

"You think it knew about the prototype?"

"I think that was the whole reason for the attack. Somehow Anubis knows we may have the only weapon in the galaxy capable of stopping his soldiers."

A sinking feeling filled the pit of Daniel's stomach. "And Sam has the design."

Jacob nodded, his uneasiness showing in his expression. "That thing won't stop until it finds her."

Daniel closed his eyes for a brief moment, the band around his heart constricting a little further.

"I know you won't give up, Danny." Jacob shifted slightly onto his good side, turning to fully face the young man. "I know you won't give up on her. She's strong, my Sammy. And so are you."

Daniel smiled at the General, embarrassed by the unexpected compliment. "Thanks, Jacob." He mumbled, patting the man on the shoulder as he stood to leave.

"You're good for her, you know." The General's words stopped Daniel in his tracks, and he turned to stare at the older Carter, but the man didn't elaborate any further, only smiled knowingly as he leant back in his hospital bed. Daniel left the infirmary with a puzzled frown on his face, wondering just what the elder Carter had picked up on.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Daniel skidded into the Control room just as the wormhole closed, leaving Jack and Teal'c standing in the Gateroom.

"Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, briefing room." General Hammond announced over the PA system. He turned to see Daniel in the doorway, panting heavily.

"You too, Doctor Jackson." Daniel tore his eyes away from the Stargate's ramp; from the spot where he thought, where he had _hoped_, Sam might be. He tried to hide his disappointment.

He followed the General to the briefing room. Teal'c and Jack we already there.

Jack tossed a thin, red, opaque crystal across the wooden table. It slid towards the General, coming to a stop just before it fell off the edge.

"The power unit Sam was working on." Jack gestured at the square crystal.

General Hammond picked it up, turning it over in his hands. "How did you get a hold of it? You found Major Carter?"

Daniel held his breath as Jack and Teal'c exchanged a look.

"Well, not exactly…"

"When your flying drone was shot down, we immediately went to investigate. We discovered the remains of the drone, along with two sets of tracks leading into the forest. Underneath the remains of the drone, we also discovered the matrix crystal – buried under a rock that bore the symbol of the Tau'ri homeworld."

"The little 'A' with the circle on top." Jack elaborated, drawing the symbol in the air with his finger as if the two men standing before him didn't already know. "It was, uh, written in blood."

Daniel fell into the chair next to Jack, suddenly unsure if his knees would continue to hold him. "So, she's still out there then."

Jack paused, glancing at the distraught doctor out of the corner of his eye. "Best we can figure is she knew we would come looking for the drone. She left it there for us to find, then led that Supersoldier thing away."

"Alright," Hammond nodded, glancing at each remaining member of SG-1, "take this and the prototype weapon down to the labs. I've ordered our science teams to start work on this immediately." General Hammond placed the crystal back down on the table, and Jack leant across to grab it.

"W-wait, what about Sam? We're still going to search for her, right?"

"Of course we are, Doctor Jackson. But with the Jaffa and Tok'ra alliance falling apart, this weapon will be our only hope against Anubis. We need to finish what Major Carter started, or else her sacrifice and the sacrifices of everyone else we lost today will be in vain."

Daniel's grip on the edge of the table tightened, but he nodded once, his jaw set in a hard line. The General dismissed them and headed into his office. Jack's gaze roamed over the tightly-wound doctor in concern, before he, too, left the room to take the crystal to the labs. Then only Teal'c remained.

The Jaffa stood, pausing as he headed for the door, and turning his gaze down on his young friend. He laid a comforting hand on the doctor's shoulder. "We will try again tomorrow, Daniel Jackson. And, if necessary, all the days after that, until Major Carter is found."

"Thanks, Teal'c." Daniel managed to choke out, still not looking up from the table. The Jaffa gave his shoulder a squeeze, then swept out of the room, leaving Daniel utterly alone.

Daniel grit his teeth against the prickling sensation in his eyelids. He sucked in a deep, fortifying breath, his throat and lungs and heart burning. Jacob was right – he wouldn't give up. Even if he had to leave the SGC to do it, he would never stop searching for her.

A wan smile flicked across Daniel's face before disappearing again. She had promised him a dinner date, after all.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Sam checked her surroundings for the umpteenth time, but saw nothing but more forest greenery. She allowed her eyes to close for a moment, her head falling back on the tree she had propped herself up against. She had run farther than she had intended to, her survival instincts driving her as she fought to stay ahead of that monster chasing her, and now she was far deeper into the forest than she would have liked to be.

It must have been a few hours since she'd last seen it; the sun was starting to dip below the horizon and the temperature was beginning to fall, cooling the sweat on her skin. In her mad dash, she had further aggravated the wound on her upper thigh, and it was now bleeding heavily again. Sam knew she had already lost a lot of blood. She couldn't afford to lose anymore.

Her tactile knife in hand, Sam pulled her lighter from her BDU pocket, flicking the flame to life and holding it against the blade's edge. When the blade glowed orange, Sam dropped the lighter into her lap and loosened the knot on the impromptu tourniquet. She picked up a cleanest-looking stick she could see, and stuck it in her mouth, biting down on the wood.

Sam sucked in three quick breaths, then pressed the blade to her open wound. Sam's scream still escaped past the stick and her clenched teeth. White enclosed her vision, and she fought with every ounce of her strength not to pass out. Unconsciousness now would be a death sentence.

She spat out the stick, blinking away the tears of pain that prickled at her eyes. With her knife, she tore a relatively clean strip of material from the bottom of her shirt, wrapping it around the injury. She winced as pain rocketed through her body, barely managing to suppress a second scream – it came out as a choked gurgle instead.

Panting, she fell back against the tree trunk, her body reaching its limits of exhaustion. She didn't want to move from this spot, her legs and arms felt like they weighed a thousand pounds, and her eyelids begged to close, to rest, just for a little while. But she knew she couldn't. She couldn't stop. She had to keep moving. She had to stay ahead, at least until she was rescued. Her team would be looking for her, they would come for her, she knew this. They were probably out there right now, Jack, Teal'c and…Daniel.

She forced her thoughts away from the handsome archeologist, pushing those feelings deep down inside of her and locking them away. She couldn't afford distractions now, she had neither the time nor the energy for that. The only thing she would allow herself to focus on was survival. If she could evade that killer for long enough, then her team would eventually find her. Then Daniel could have that dinner that she had promised him.

Smiling to herself, Sam gingerly clambered to her feet. Limping heavily, she wobbled deeper into the forest, determination and the memory of Daniel's face ensuring she continued to put one foot in front of the other.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Daniel's head drooped, his knuckles turning white as they clutched the back of the chair, as yet another SG team returned without Sam. He stormed out of the Control room without a word to Jack or General Hammond, making a beeline for his quarters. He locked the door behind him, then turned and pressed his back against it. His knees began to shake, refusing to support him, and he slowly sank to the floor, collapsing in a pathetic puddle.

Daniel wrapped his arms around his knees and cushioned his forehead against them, wanting to be lost in the darkness they provided. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, just trying to breathe steadily through the gap between his legs, and trying his best not to feel, for that hurt far too much.

Eventually, he was roused from his numbed state by a knock at his door. "Sorry, I'm a little busy right now," he managed, trying to make his voice as chipper as possible, "could you come back later?"

"Daniel, I know you're not busy, let me in." Jack's annoyance was apparent even through the thick door. Daniel sighed, letting his head thunk back against the metal. "Go away, Jack."

Jack knocked again, more persistent this time. "Come on Daniel, don't make me kick this door down, you know how my knees are." While Daniel was sorely tempted to let Jack attempt to kick in a solid steel door, he eventually stood to unlock it.

He turned away before he could meet Jack's eyes, moving back to sit on the edge of his bed. Jack closed the door behind him, but didn't move any closer, just shifted awkwardly where he stood. When the silence had stretched on for longer than he was comfortable with, Daniel broke it. "Good pep talk."

"Oh, you know me, I have a way with words." Jack mustered with all his usual sarcasm. Seeming to make a decision, he moved over to Daniel's desk and, grabbing the chair, dragged it over to where Daniel was sitting. He spun it around and threw his leg over to sit on it backwards, his arms folding across the backrest.

"Listen…Daniel…" He started hesitantly, but Daniel didn't want to hear whatever rehearsed speech Jack was about to spoon-feed him.

"Don't Jack, just don't. I know what the odds are. I'm not stupid. It's been two months. I know that everyone thinks this is less of a rescue mission and more of a… recovery." Daniel's gaze remained fixed on his hands in his lap, his fingers picking at his cuticles.

Jack's gaze hardened. "Well, you_ are_ stupid if you think she's dead, because she's not. She's alive, Daniel. You gotta believe that."

"I do…I _do_. I just-" Sighing in frustration, Daniel ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced up at Jack and winced at the serious expression on the man's face. "I…I know General Hammond is being pressured call off the search." He admitted quietly.

Jack leant back in his chair, contemplating his next words. "There might be _some _higher-ups who may be of that opinion, but you know damn well neither I or the General will let that happen unless we get a call from the President himself. I'm not giving up, Daniel, we don't leave our people behind, remember? But we will have to…resume some active duties." He grimaced when Daniel looked up at him sharply. "Look, I know you're not happy about that, but that's the way it has to be. We play ball and Hammond will give us the go to resume searching on our down days."

"It's not enough, Jack! It's not…" He bit off his next words, suddenly not trusting his voice.

Jack sighed, rubbing his hands over his tired face. The Colonel studied the hunched man before him, taking in his drawn and pale complexion. He knew the archeologist hadn't been eating or sleeping very well, too consumed by his worry. He absently wondered if there was more to it than that, but he pushed the thought from his mind.

"Look, you're not the only one that's worried about her, you know. We all want to join the search. I…I care about her too."

"Oh yeah, I'm _well_ aware of that, Jack." Daniel sniped, his voice laced with bitterness.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jack shouted, his anger getting the better of him. He had such a short fuse these days, even shorter than usual.

"You know damn well what it means." The archeologist whispered quietly. His hands were balled up in fists, his knuckles white and shaking in his lap, his shoulders set in a hard line. He realised the doctor was looking for a fight. Jack wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

The Colonel stood abruptly, scorching the top of Daniel's head with a stern look. He swept towards the door, but not before giving the doctor a last once over. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, wanting to give the man some semblance of comfort, but he couldn't find the words. So he said nothing, and slipped silently out the door instead, leaving Daniel to wallow in his misery.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Sam was running again. It had been days, maybe even more than a week, since she'd last seen Him, but now He'd found her again. And now she was running.

She tore through the forest at a dead sprint, leaping over logs and boulders, and sling-shotting around trees. She could hear Him crashing through the forest behind her, just barely out of sight, and she pushed her legs faster.

The trees cleared suddenly, and Sam skidded to a stop to avoid careening off the cliff that opened up in front of her. To her left she heard the thundering of a waterfall, about a hundred yards from her. She ran for it, dashing along the very thin strip of grass between the tree line and a sheer drop.

The waterfall became deafening as she reached it, and she knew she would not be able to hear Him coming when He did, but that also meant He couldn't hear her. She crouched, scooting backwards towards the edge, and cautiously lowered her legs over the side. Her fingers clawed the rock as her feet scrabbled for purchase on the wet stone, but she managed to find a foothold. She clambered down and across, far too slowly for the likes of the adrenaline pumping through her veins, which was trying to persuade her to swan dive off the cliff.

Instead, she shuffled sideways, intending to hide under the cloak of the falls. Above the din, she heard faint splashing, and she knew He had reached the water's edge. She pressed herself flat to the cliff face, hoping against all odds that He would think she had crossed the river and continued on. She held her breath, her ears straining to pick up any further sounds. She risked a glance upwards, and saw nothing but blue sky and spitting water droplets.

Then, that black, metal face appeared. She sucked in a gasp between clenched teeth and moved hurriedly, racing to climb further down and get her feet on to solid ground. He raised his arm and fired, grazing the top of her arm. She lost her grip with a yelp of pain, hanging now only by one hand. She tried to regain her hold, but he fired again, and she was forced to swing away to attempt to dodge the blast. Something smashed into the side of her face, red blooming across her vision, and then she was falling, falling, her body cartwheeling out of control. She tried to level off, tried to aim as best she could, but even with all her training, when she hit the water, the darkness dragged her down.

**'~*~*~*~'**

Daniel wandered down her hallway, his fingers trailing along the shelf, leaving a dark line in the dust that had accumulated there. He rubbed his fingertips together. He should really clean up a little, she wouldn't want to…to come back to a dirty house.

But instead, Daniel found himself standing in her bedroom doorway, something horrible and ugly tearing at his chest, clawing at his insides as he stared at her empty bed – the sheets still rumpled from that one night, four long months ago. His feet are moving, carrying him across the room and to the bed. Gingerly, he sat, his hand tracing over the patterns on the colourful bedspread. He hesitated, then laid back, his arms spread wide across the width of the bed. Daniel rolled onto his side, his knees curling up into his chest. He pressed his face into the sheets, inhaling deeply, allowing her scent to envelope him and fill the cavity in his chest where his heart should be. Tears of hopelessness escape his closed eyes, and he allows them to fall; they sink into the white sheets and disappear, like they were never really there at all.

Eventually, Daniel sat up, his head feeling like it was stuffed with cotton wool. He stumbled to the kitchen, filling a glass with water. He turned away from the sink, bringing the glass to his lips, then dropped it when he saw a figure standing in the middle of the room. It smashed against the floor, cool water wetting his socks, but he hardly noticed. The figure was small and hunched over, but he would recognise her anywhere.

"Sam?" He held his breath as he slowly moved toward her, hardly daring to hope. "Sam?" He whispered again as he reached her, his arm outstretched, his hand brushing over a solid, real, shoulder. She turned to him, her bright, blue eyes sparkling and her grin one of pure joy. The sight took his breath away.

She held something in her arms, and as she turned to face him fully, he realised what it was. "Do you want to hold him?" Without waiting for an answer, she shifted the tiny bundle into his awaiting arms. "Say hi to daddy." She cooed, moving a piece of the fabric to reveal a tiny, perfect face; big, bright, blue eyes peered up at him – just like his mother's.

Daniel's vision blurred momentarily as twin teardrops raced down his cheeks. Sam reached up to tenderly brush them away, and Daniel thought the force of his grin might split his face.

Daniel wrapped a hand in her hair and pulled her lips to his, trying to impart all the passion, love, and overwhelming joy he felt into the kiss. Suddenly, he tasted copper, and he pulled away, puzzled. Ice froze in his veins as blood dripped from Sam's mouth. Her eyes wide with shock, she glanced down, her fingers scrabbling at the black hand that protruded from her chest.

"NOOOOO!" The scream ripped from his throat like it was made from shards of glass, and he fell to his knees. Blood stained her white blouse crimson, and when the hand retracted from her chest, she folded, collapsing to the floor. Her beautiful cobalt eyes stared up at him, but could no longer see him.

The baby began to wail in his arms, and the Supersoldier turned to them now, its heavy footsteps hollow on the floorboards. Daniel tore his gaze from Sam's lifeless form to glare up at it, defiant despite the tears streaking down his face. Its right hand was dripping blood and chunks of viscera, and it reached out and grasped the baby's head with that hand.

Shouting, Daniel tried to hold on, but the warrior was too strong. It ripped the baby from his arms, and he fell flat at the sudden loss. The Supersoldier held the baby out, the blanket unravelling from around his body, his little legs and arms flailing helplessly as he screamed at the top of his lungs, his tiny face screwed up and turning red.

The Kull flexed its hand, and the baby's screaming was replaced by Daniel's. It released the infant; the tiny body dropped to the floor with a dull thud, the repulsive, caved in skull slowly leaking blood and other tissue. Daniel was still screaming when the Kull wrapped its hand around his throat.

He clawed at the hand squeezing the life from him, managing to do nothing but coat his own hands in the blood of his love and their child. His felt his lungs burning in his chest, felt the crunch as his throat collapsed, felt the blood vessels behind his eyes pop, felt the life leaving his body as his vision failed, leaving Sam's broken and bloodied corpse as the last thing he ever saw, then he felt no more.

Daniel sat bolt-right up as he gasped for breath, his hand automatically flying to his throat. His eyes darted around the room, trying to calm his racing heart as he realised where he was. The nightmare had seemed so real; the image of a baby's crushed skull and Sam's dead eyes still lingered just behind his eyelids. Daniel ran his hands through his long hair and tugged at the strands until it hurt. Every day, he felt like _he _was the one with the gaping hole in his chest, and every day, he just had to pretend like everything was normal, like he wasn't dying inside. Is this how Sam had felt when he'd ascended? If he'd caused her to feel even a quarter of the way he felt now, then he supposed he deserved all this pain. He deserved it, because he'd left her then, and now, he'd left her again.

Daniel curled his legs up to his chest, buried his head between his knees, and cried.


	3. Trouvaille

**Chapter 3. Trouvaille**

_/n/ (French)_ a lucky find, fortuitous

* * *

Sam's wiry fingers dug into the dirt, grubby hands sifting through the soil as she dug down to the root of the broad-leafed plant the way Teal'c had once taught her to. Victorious, she pulled the black tuber from the ground with a heave. She brushed off some of the soil with her hand, but she was too hungry to worry about the rest, and so she bit straight into it, crunching through the hard root. Her eyes darted back and forth as she chewed, her ears straining to pick up the slightest noise. It had been almost three days since she'd last seen Him, but she knew better than to hope that she had lost Him. No matter how far or fast she ran, no matter where she hid, He always seemed to catch up to her eventually.

She patted her pocket, reassuring herself that the grimy block of C4 still remained there. Until now, she hadn't gained enough reprieve to use it, but all the running and hiding and the constant hunger was beginning to take its toll on her body and her mind. She didn't know if she could run for much longer. She was in pure survival mode; that, and the occasional jolt of adrenaline, was all that was keeping her going now. Everything else, any hopes of rescue or dreams of seeing a friendly face had died a long time ago. All she could do now was survive.

Jaw set in determination, Sam got to work. She was prepared for this to be her last stand. All her other attempts at ambush had failed, and she knew this would likely be her last chance, but it didn't matter, not anymore. This was it. No more running. She would either take Him down once and for all, or go down fighting. Kill or be killed. And Sam was prepared to die.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

Sam waited, barely breathing, ignoring the bugs and insects that crawled over her skin as she lay buried under a mound of dirt. If someone had stumbled across her now, they may have mistaken her for a half-buried corpse. Night had fallen so long ago that the moon had already crested and fallen, sinking the forest into the eerie blackness that stilled all life just before the dawn broke. In that void of crushing silence and impenetrable darkness, that's when He came. His suit was so black that even her sharpened eyes could not discern Him from the suffocating dark, but she could hear him; his harsh breath echoing in his helmet, the crunch of dirt under his booted feet. He was almost there, just a little more...yes!

He stepped into her target zone and she jammed her thumb into the button on the remote detonator. For a moment the explosion lit up the clearing, allowing her to witness the sharpened tree branch fly through the air like an arrow, impaling its target and nailing Him to the trunk of a large tree. Teeth clenched, Sam leapt to her feet, shaking off the dirt. She had to finish this now. One way or the other, it would end tonight.

Her teeth bared in a snarl, Sam sprinted out from her hiding hole with a strangled yell, her makeshift spear in one hand and her tactical knife in the other. She raced towards Him, ducking and weaving away from His blue energy blasts with lightning speed. One shot grazed her arm; she smelt the sour tang of burnt flesh, but felt nothing. She threw her spear, and he flung His arm out to the side to block it, giving her an opening. She lunged, leaping through the air as she cleared the log that impaled Him, her fingers and feet digging into the bark of the tree as she clung to it like a lemur. Hovering just above the log, she pressed her knees into His shoulders, pinning them to the tree. With one hand, she ripped off His helmet; His ugly face sneered at her, dark eyes staring up at her from rancid flesh. With an inhuman cry, she brought down her knife, plunging it into one of those merciless, dark sockets. Wrenching the blade back, she struck again. And again, and again, and again. She rained down blows until there was no face left to stab, until His dark blood and viscera coated her hands, her arms, her face, her soul.

Her arms fell limply to her sides when she was done and she sat back, resting her weight on the branch that was imbedded through His torso and into the tree behind, her chest heaving and her mouth still pulled tight in a snarl.

Leaves rustled to her left and her head snapped around, breath halted in her lungs as she froze, listening, watching, waiting. And then she was gone; slipping silently from the branch and scooping up her fallen spear, she disappeared into the night to await the dawn.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

"Colonel, you're gonna wanna see this." Captain Marks' staticky voice buzzed through the radio. Jack dutifully headed off in the direction the Captain had taken, but he was surpassed by Daniel. The archaeologist sprinted past him, almost bowling him over in the process as he went crashing through the forest.

"Daniel! Don't – ugh!" Jack rolled his eyes at the half-finished admonishment. Daniel was already gone. Jacob rest his hand on the Colonel's shoulder. "Don't be too hard on him, Jack. He's been going out of his mind with worry these past few months."

The statement didn't make Jack feel any better. "Yeah, well, we all have." He snapped, his anger besting him as it had many times over the past six months, "Doesn't mean I want to be rescuing two lost scientists from this fucking jungle."

Luckily for Jack, Jacob didn't take his heated tone to heart; he merely pat the Colonel on the shoulder and brushed past him. They had all been growing more and more tense as the searches expanded and still turned up nothing; there had been more than a few snippy comments and harsh words exchanged over the last months, most of which had been between Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson.

Teal'c followed in the elder Carter's footsteps, casting a stern but silent glance at the Colonel as he passed. Jack sighed, his anger deflating and the ever-present gnawing anxiety returning. With a shake of his head, Jack joined the others in their foray into the undergrowth.

Daniel was obviously the first to reach Captain Marks' location, and when he did, he stopped dead in his tracks. More cautiously, he stepped further into the clearing, slack-jawed and wide-eyed at the sight before him.

"My God." He breathed, his stomach suddenly rebelling violently as the scent of the rotting corpse reached him. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth and nose, but that didn't prevent him from seeing.

The mangled body was pinned up against a large tree trunk. It had been impaled by a huge tree branch, probably thicker than Teal'c's thigh, and it certainly didn't look like an accident. The branch hung precariously by the few woven vines that were still wrapped around it, strung up over the higher branches in some kind of pulley system. The end of it was blackened and charred, and the tree to which it was tethered was also scorched. But most importantly, the body it impaled was clothed in the supposedly-impenetrable dark metal of the Kull armour.

Jacob, Teal'c and Jack entered the clearing then, their eyes all falling to the same thing Daniel was staring at.

"What in the unholy fuck?" Jack muttered, sidling up to where Captain Marks and the two other members of SG-6 stood inspecting the body.

"It almost looks like it could have been an animal attack sir, but..." The Captain trailed off as Jack crouched down to pick up the fallen helmet of the Kull warrior. He glanced at Daniel over his shoulder.

"But an animal can't set a trap." Jack finished.

Daniel swallowed; his mouth suddenly very dry. "Y-you don't think..." He didn't finish his sentence, unable to comprehend how much violence and rage a person needed to be able to slaughter someone so brutally, to be able to bash someone's skull into dust. Of course, he didn't feel an ounce of pity for the Kull, the warrior who had been hunting his Sam like an animal for the past six months. No, he was more concerned for the mental state Sam may be in when they found her. Obviously, he'd seen her kill before, he'd watched her take many lives over the years; he had plenty of blood on his own hands too, but he'd never seen anything like _this_...this...massacre.

"She must have sharpened that branch down to a razor fine tip. That's the only way she could have pierced its armour." Jacob observed from a safe distance.

Jack gave a low whistle, turning the helmet over in his hands. He stood to peer at the faceless body. "This isn't recent."

Daniel pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and held it over the lower half of his face as he inched closer. The warrior had no face; no eyes that Daniel could see, no nose, not even teeth. It looked like his head had been replaced with a bowl of raw minced meat, the mess of flesh and cartilage and brain was so mangled it was impossible to tell what anything had been. Daniel could also see, and would never be able to _un_see, that maggots had infested the open cavity, their little white bodies wriggling in the bloody mess.

Sour bile clawed it's way up Daniel's throat and he turned away, bracing his hands against his knees as he retched, coughing and dry heaving over the dirt.

"What, can't handle your pancakes there, Danny boy?"

"Shut up Jack." Daniel muttered as he retreated back to where Jacob stood. Teal'c moved to stand beside the Colonel, studying the corpse intently. "I recognise this species of insect, O'Neill. I calculate that this body has been deceased for a number of weeks, possibly even over a month."

"A month? So she killed this thing over a month ago and then what? Decided to take a holiday? Why wouldn't she have headed back to the 'gate?"

Daniel shook his head, his brow furrowed. "We're almost five hundred miles from the Stargate and this planet is mostly land mass, it'd be like trying to find a needle in a forest. Hell, the only reason _we're _not lost is because we've done extensive UAV mapping since then."

Jack waggled a finger at him. "That sounds like defeatist talk, Jackson."

"I'm not!" Daniel started to shout, then expelled a breath, reining in his anger. "I'm not giving up Jack, I would never, I'm just trying to be logical. She doesn't know where she is or where she's going. She's utterly lost and alone and she could be _anywhere_, Jack, and-and I just… I just don't know how we'll ever find her." The last part was almost a whisper, but Jack still heard it and fixed the archeologist with a cold stare.

"Like I said. Defeatist." Jack turned to Captain Marks and the other two airmen, giving them orders to find a nearby clearing and set up camp for the night.

Daniel sighed as the Colonel and the other Air Force officers left the clearing, and scrubbed at his face with his hands. He felt a weight on his shoulder and lifted his head to see Sam's father standing beside him, offering the gesture of comfort. "We _will _find her, Daniel. I won't give up until we do. And I know you won't either."

Daniel placed his hand on Jacob's shoulder, returning the gesture. He would be eternally grateful for the man's silent support over the past few months. He knew the elder Carter had been keeping a close eye on him, offering comfort and strength whenever Daniel had needed it.

"I too, will not abandon the search for Major Carter until the day she is found. I have pledged myself to this cause, and will not forsake it until it is complete."

Daniel gave the Jaffa a weak smile, touched, but not surprised, by the man's dedication. "Thanks Teal'c." He murmured. "Thank you both."

The three headed off in the direction the Colonel had taken, leaving the mangled corpse of the Kull warrior to rot in the spot where it had been slain by its own prey.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

In the end, Daniel and the others never found Sam. She found them.

They had started a campfire as night fell. Captain Marks stood over the flames, heating up the MRE's in a billy can. Teal'c had gathered firewood and dragged over two big logs to be used as seating, while the rest of them had set about pitching the tents.

Captain Marks dished up the stew, handing out the steaming bowls to the rest of the team before taking a seat with his own. The chirps and buzz of insects at dusk were now accompanied by the scrape of spoons against bowls and loud slurping. Their meals were consumed in silence. They had covered more than 30 miles today, and all men were exhausted.

Captain Marks finished the last of his stew with a slurp, and placed the empty bowl on the log beside him. As he turned to look back at the group, he felt a sharp prick in his neck. Thinking it was a mosquito or some kind of alien bug, he reached up to flick it away. His fingers brushed against cold metal and the Captain froze, too late realising that it was not, in fact, a bug. Something grabbed his hair, pulling it tight to the point of pain, and there was a collective gasp around the campfire.

Captain Marks glanced around at the horrified expressions of his teammates, and fear turned the blood in his veins to ice. Oh God, this is how he was gonna go out, some horrible alien monster was behind him and it was about to tear his head off. The Captain heard a growl in his ear, and a tiny whimper escaped his lips, his face screwed up as he braced for his impending death.

Daniel slowly rose to his feet and took a single step forward, his hands half raised in a placating motion.

_For the love of God, please don't let the archeologist try to reason with it! Just blow its goddamn head off before it eats me!_

"Sam?" Daniel breathed, taking another step forward. Colonel O'Neill and Jacob also rose, but did not make any forward movements.

"Sam? It's me. It's Daniel."

_Sam? As in Major Carter? What? It can't be…_

As Daniel slowly drew closer to the Captain, he felt the tight grip on his hair lessen, and then release. The prick of the blade also left his skin, and the Captain counted to three before slowly sliding away from the confrontation, sending up a silent prayer to whoever was watching over him that he would indeed be going home to his family after this.

Daniel took another cautious step, then sank to his knees to come level to where Sam was crouched. She held her knife in front of her, pointing it at Daniel, but her grip loosened when their eyes met, recognition flickering in the cobalt depths.

"Carter?" Jack called gently from where he stood. At the new voice, the tension returned to Sam's body, and she pointed the knife from Daniel to Jack, and back again, her lips curling back and her muscles tensing as if preparing to strike.

Daniel flapped a hand at Jack, the civilian somehow ordering the Colonel to be silent. "It's okay, Sam, it's okay. It's me. And Jack." He gestured behind him to where the Colonel stood. "And Teal'c and your dad. We came to find you. We came to bring you home."

Sam began to visibly relax as she focussed on the familiar voice. She slowly lowered her knife, then dropped her arm to her side. Jack and Jacob exchanged a glance.

Daniel shuffled on his knees towards her, keeping his movements calm and deliberate. There was a wild look in Sam's eyes, something savage that, frankly, frightened him. But he could also see something more, the familiar gleam that he recalled seeing whenever she looked at him, and he knew his Sam was still in there. She reminded him of the wild dogs that scavenged around most dig sites he had lived on when he was young. They would snarl and bite you if you came too close, and they could easily tear a stray goat to shreds, but if you fed them, showed kindness to them, they would remember, and they would not harm you.

Daniel sat back on his heels, curving his spine slightly so that he was lower than her. It was a submissive pose, something he hoped to gain her trust with. "It's okay, Sam," he murmured, keeping his tone light, "it's okay. It's Daniel. It's me."

Slowly, cautiously, he raised his hand, reaching out to her with his palm open so she could see he held nothing threatening. His fingers arced towards her face, aching to touch her. Daniel wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms, to crush her body to his and never ever let go, but he had to take this slowly.

His fingers were so close, almost a hairs-breadth away from brushing her dirt-covered cheek, when her hand shot up lightning fast, faster than he had ever seen any human move, and she had his wrist encircled in her iron grip.

"Daniel…" He heard the warning in Jack's voice and felt the tension in the camp rack up a few notches. Even Teal'c rose to his feet. Sam's eyes flicked over the Colonel, before returning to Daniel. She inched forward, lowering Daniel's hand slightly but not releasing him. Her face came into the glow of the fire, and Daniel inhaled sharply, hearing his reaction echoed by the men behind him.

The flickering flames cast her emaciated form in sharp relief; her cheeks too hollow, her eyes too big, her lips no longer full and inviting, but cracked and dry. Streaks of brown dirt or dark, dried blood coated every inch of skin he could see, from her face down to her chest. Her clothing was torn, shredded in some places, and just as covered in dirt and blood. More blood coated the left side of her face and plastered her hair, dyeing the blond strands a deep crimson and making them sit stiffly against her head. Her hair no longer sat in perfect, fluffy arrangement. Instead it was slicked back, longer, and darkened by grime, twigs and other debris sticking out in random places. Daniel glanced down to the hand that encircled his wrist. He could feel the bones in her hand, sharp against his skin, but still they held more strength then they should have in her state. Her hands were filthy, the skin from her fingers to her arms covered in innumerable small cuts and scrapes. Her nails were torn and shredded, nothing more than stubs in the nailbeds, caked in dirt.

Daniel raised his gaze to hers, his heart breaking all over again at the state she was in, at the suffering she must have gone through. If only they'd found her sooner, if only he'd tried harder, searched longer…

Sam's mouth was opening and closing, her lips moving, forming the vowels of his name, but no sound was coming out.

"Yes, Daniel, that's right." She released his wrist then, her hand rising as if she was going to touch his face, but then thought better of it, and dropped her arm back to her side. Daniel tried to hide his disappointment.

"Carter?" Jack tried again, his voice as soft as Daniel had ever heard it, "Are you…alright?" The Colonel took a few steps forward, and Sam eyed him warily. Daniel turned his body to the side as Jack approached, shifting so he could see both the Colonel's actions and Sam's reactions. As he did, he noticed Sam shift as well, moving into Daniel's shadow. The Colonel must have noticed too, for he halted briefly, uncertain. He took a few more cautious steps, and Sam drew even closer to Daniel, almost hiding behind his larger frame. Daniel tried not to let Sam's reaction bolster his ego, he really did.

"It's alright, it's Jack. You know Jack, Colonel O'Neill? And look, your dad's here too."

Sam's head peeped out from behind Daniel as the elder Carter crouched down to the ground and smiled warmly at her. "Hey Sammy. You had us real worried there, sweetheart."

Daniel saw the recognition in her eyes, but she was still reluctant to move closer. Was she scared of them? Did she think they would hurt her? Did she think they weren't real?

"Hey, are you hungry? Come sit by the fire and I'll get you something to eat. Would you like that?" Daniel gently coaxed her forward until she clambered over the log and sat down on it, her eyes darting from person to person and her hand clenching and unclenching around the handle of the knife.

"Captain Marks," he called, making sure not to raise his voice, "do we have any MRE's left?" The man snapped out of his awed stupor, blinking a few times before going to his backpack. "Oh, uhh, yes, um, we don't have any dinner ones left but we still have some breakfast rations I could heat up, or I have some beef jerky still and a coupla power bars."

"Pass me a power bar and my canteen." The Airman rummaged through the packs, then gently tossed the requested items to Daniel.

"Here, Sam, eat something." He offered her the power bar and she hesitated for only the briefest moment before stabbing the blade into the soil between her feet and snatching the item from his hand, ripping the packaging open and shoving a huge bite into her mouth. Pleased, Daniel gave her an encouraging smile, then sat on the ground by her feet.

The Colonel, who was still standing, somewhat shell-shocked, in the middle of the campsite, turned to look at Jacob and Teal'c. "So…what now?"

The older Carter shook his head, rising slightly to sit back down on the log behind him. "She's not injured, is she Daniel?"

Daniel watched her from the corner of his eye as she devoured the ration bar. "Err, I'm not too sure, there's a lot of blood but none of it looks fresh, and she doesn't look like she's in pain so I'm not sure that most of it is even hers." Daniel quieted, the image of that mutilated Kull warrior flashing through his mind once again. He handed Sam his canteen and she took it, taking a few deep swigs.

"Well it's only a days walk back to the fields, we'll knuckle down for tonight and then radio the base camp in the morning and have them send a Jeep to pick us up from there." Plan made, Jack settled back down in his spot next to Jacob. A few more moments passed in awkward silence, then Jack made another suggestion.

"I think…we should take shifts keeping an eye on her too, you know, just in case she decides to make a break for it or something…or stab Captain Marks in his sleep." The Captain frowned, rubbing at his neck subconsciously.

"I'll take first watch." Daniel murmured softly, his gaze still trained on Sam.

"Alright, I'll relieve you in two hours then. The rest of us should try to catch some shuteye." Jack motioned to the others, and the soldiers slowly shuffled off into their respective tents.

Jacob paused next to them, "I'm real glad to have you back, Sammy." He smiled down at his daughter, all the love and fatherly concern clear to see in his eyes. Surprisingly, Sam met his gaze. She didn't respond, but she didn't shy away either, and Jacob took that as good a sign as any.

When they were alone, Daniel stood. "Do you want to sleep now?" He drifted a few steps towards his tent, trying to coax her to follow him. "You'll be safe, I promise. I'll be right there with you." She stood, following a few paces behind him, but halted in her tracks when he pulled back the flap of the tent to reveal the darkness beyond.

"What's wrong?" He frowned, perplexed by her sudden hesitation. He looked back into the dark tent. "You don't want to go in there?"

Sam shook her head, the first definite sign of communication he'd received from her all night. "Okay, that's alright. How about we sleep out here instead then?" Sam nodded once, then returned to her position on the log. Pleased with her response to him, Daniel ducked into his tent to pull out his sleeping bag and pillow. He dragged the bedding over to her and laid it out at her feet. Sam ran her fingers over the pillow, then scrunched it in her hand a few times, testing its softness. She left her boots on, but shed her tattered jacket, and that's when Daniel first noticed that her tank top appeared to be deliberately torn, the bottom ripped off and a piece of it wrapped around her upper arm instead. He also noticed other injuries; a semi-healed wound in her side, its edges red and puckered, a wide swathe of raw skin arced across her shoulder blade, a hole torn through the upper part of her pants revealed an old burn scar, other cuts and grazes across her belly and arms. He frowned as she slipped into the sleeping bag, the angst in the pit of his stomach continuing to grow.

Sam rubbed her dirty face back and forth over the pillow before snuggling into it, her face buried in its plushness. Daniel almost smiled at the sight, and he reached down to gingerly pluck a few of the stray twigs and foliage from her hair. Her one visible eye opened to peer up at him, but when she decided she didn't mind whatever he was doing, she closed it again.

Daniel watched her as her breathing eventually slowed, becoming deeper and evening out into sleep. He pushed down his feelings of anguish and guilt, resolved to be content in the fact that she was here with him now. They had found her, against all odds, and she was alive. He had her back, and she was okay, she would be okay. She had to be.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

"Daniel. Daniel!" The strained whisper roused Daniel from where he sat with his back against the log, dozing. "Hgnn?" He groaned as he blearily blinked the sleep from his eyes. Jack's anxious face stared back at him from a few feet away. Was it time for him to be relieved already? Daniel glanced down to the sleeping bag where Sam slept, and his heart just about leapt out of his chest. It was empty.

Daniel was suddenly wide awake; adrenaline instantaneous in its delivery to his bloodstream. He jerked his head around to see where she could have possible gone. And almost headbutted Sam in the face.

Startled, Daniel fell sideways, a choked noise escaping from the back of his throat. But Sam was not looking at him, her gaze remained locked on the Colonel. She was crouched on the other side of the log, her body low, shifting minutely on her haunches like Daniel had seen cheetahs do in nature documentaries right before they pounced.

Daniel pressed a hand over his chest, trying to calm his racing heart. "It's okay Sam. Jack's going to watch over you now too, okay?" Sam's eyes flicked back and forth between the Colonel and the archaeologist, but she didn't move.

"Was she already awake when you came out?" Daniel's face scrunched, his lips pursed in the way that they did when he was contemplating something.

"I think I woke her when I was getting out of the tent, but I didn't even see her move. She's so fast."

Daniel nodded silently, frowning. "I think I'll sleep out here with her. She's still so...skittish."

"Alright, fine by me. Why are you guys sleeping out here anyway?"

Daniel gave a one-armed shrug, "She didn't seem to want to go in the tent for some reason."

The Colonel hummed, his brow creased, then let out a sigh. He took a seat on the log on the opposite side of the smouldering fire, preparing to keep watch. Daniel went to the supplies and pulled out an unused sleeping bag. When he turned back, Sam had moved, the tension in her body that threatened violence now gone. Daniel unfurled his bedding next to hers, feeling her eyes on him as he fussed with the thick fabric.

Daniel slipped off his boots and jacket, then glanced over to the Colonel, who was picking through the pile of sticks to throw a few more onto the dying fire. Daniel quickly shucked his dusty pants and changed into a clean shirt. He sat, cross-legged, in his sleeping bag, and offered his hand to Sam. "Come, Sam. Go back to sleep. I'll be right here."

Her gaze penetrated him, studying; she glanced up to where Jack was poking at the fire with a long stick, then back to him. She ignored his proffered hand, but she did slip back into her bed, wriggling down under the covers. Daniel did the same, curling up on his side with his hands pillowed under his cheek; he watched her watching him. He examined her dirt covered, blood encrusted face, wondering if she would let him clean some of the filth from her skin in the morning. Her eyes narrowed at him, and Daniel closed his, knowing that she would not sleep if she thought he was still watching her. Daniel waited, listening as she shifted and tossed for more than an hour, before she eventually settled into sleep.

Daniel cracked an eye open, peering at her still form in the low light of the fire. Even in sleep, she still seemed tense, her features not fully relaxed but ready to spring into action at the first hint of danger. Daniel studied her gaunt face, marvelling at how long she'd been living like this, how long she had been running, barely sleeping, barely eating, while they had returned to their soft beds every night, warm and safe with full bellies. Guilt bubbled up inside him again, consuming his insides, threatening to devour him whole.

Jack's shadow fell over his face; had it been two hours already? "Get some sleep Daniel," he whispered, his voice so quiet it barely registered, "you need it even more than the rest of us." The Colonel silently slipped into his tent, trading places with Teal'c.

The Jaffa emerged like a shadow, eyeing the two prone scientists. His solemn expression wavered for a moment as he glanced over Sam's sleeping form, and Daniel knew the Jaffa was trying not to show his worry for their fellow teammate and friend. Teal'c quietly drifted away without a word, taking up his sentry post, and Daniel tried to follow Jack's advice.

But behind his closed eyes, terrors plagued him, as they had done almost every night for the past six months. Skeletal faces jumped out at him, their mouths open in a silent scream, their eye sockets hollow. Bloodied hands tore at his clothes, fingers digging into his flesh. And above it all, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, was Sam's terrified screams.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

Daniel was awoken in the morning by the gentle stirrings of the camp. He cracked his eyes open, squinting until he located his glasses in the pocket of his discarded trousers. Shoving them on his face, he realised Sam was once again not in her sleeping bag. Daniel sat up, looking around for her as the others went about their morning routine. Jack and Teal'c were up and about, the former trotting back into the campsite while zipping up his fly, while the latter set about extinguishing the coals from last night's fire. Captain Marks and his Airmen were busily packing down one of the tents.

Daniel's gaze finally landed on Sam. She sat on a stump at the edge of the clearing; her father kneeling in the dirt before her. Daniel could see the older man's lips moving, but he must have been talking in quiet whispers as Daniel couldn't make out any of his words. He also noticed the General had a hand resting on Sam's knee, and she hadn't pushed him away. It was the first human contact that she hadn't shied away from, and Daniel pushed down the bitter disappointment that it wasn't from him, belligerently forcing himself to be happy that she was at least opening up to someone.

Rummaging through his pack, Daniel pulled on clean trousers and then stood, shoving his boots on his feet. He packed away his and Sam's bedding, then set about helping the Airmen with the tents, surreptitiously keeping his eye on the father and daughter duo.

Captain Marks was heating a pot of porridge on the portable cooktop when Daniel strolled over to him. He handed the doctor two bowls with a smile and a nod of encouragement. Daniel moseyed over to the two Carters, plastering a smile on his face as he approached.

"Hey Sam. Morning Jacob." He nodded at the General, who returned his greeting. "Here, you must be hungry still. I brought you some breakfast." He held out the steaming bowl to Sam, who took it hesitantly. She brought the bowl to her nose, sniffing the contents, but then placed it on the ground beside her.

Daniel frowned, "What's wrong? You like oatmeal. Aren't you hungry?"

She didn't reply; instead she was off, scurrying over to where Teal'c stood. He shared a confused look with the General, then watched in shock as Sam slapped the Jaffa in the middle of the chest and then took off, sprinting into the forest and disappearing into the greenery before Daniel even had time to stand.

"Hey!" He shouted as he began to run after her, but Teal'c was closer, and also faster, and he gave chase, and soon Daniel had lost sight of them both. He paused, turning in a circle as he tried to figure out which way they went. All the trees looked the same to him. He heard heavy breathing as Jack and Jacob caught up to him.

"What happened?" Jack demanded.

"I don't know! She just walked up to Teal'c and then took off. He went after her." Panic seeped into Daniel's voice and he stared at the Colonel, blue eyes wide and pleading.

Cursing, Jack tightened his grip on his P-90 and jammed his thumb into the button on his radio.

"Teal'c, report!"

Daniel held his breath as he heard only static, and then- "We are well, O'Neill. Major Carter only wished for me to see something. We will be back shortly." Daniel released his breath in a rush, glancing over at Jack who also looked relieved. Daniel still wanted to go off and find Teal'c and Sam, but Jack ushered him back to the campsite.

Luckily, Daniel only had to wait a few minutes to find out where the pair had run off to. They emerged from the forest, each carrying a handful of leafy plants. Stunned, Daniel studied the Jaffa's face – he was actually _smiling_. Sam looked quite pleased with herself too.

"I apologise for causing concern, O'Neill. Major Carter wished to inform me that the hearty C'nap also grows on this planet." They deposited their treasure in a small pile by the supply bags, and Teal'c picked up two of the plants and rinsed the soil from the roots, revealing something that looked like an oversized, dark purple carrot.

"Catnip? What?"

"C'nap, O'Neill. It is a root vegetable that is common to many Goa'uld occupied planets. It is one of the first things Jaffa are taught to search for when food is in short supply. They are highly nutritious and filling for empty bellies. I once taught Major Carter how to identify and harvest the root some years ago. It seems she has remembered my teachings." He smiled down at the Major and handed her one of the plants, then offered the other to Jack. "Yeah, no. I'll stick with oatmeal."

Teal'c merely raised an eyebrow, and instead offered the root to Daniel. Curious, Daniel was about to put down his bowl of oatmeal and take the offered vegetable, when Sam bit into hers with a crunch. Then the smell hit him.

"GAH! What the fuck is that!" Jack backed away, pulling the collar of his shirt up over his nose. Daniel also pinched his nose, trying not to gag. The fetid smell was like someone had left raw meat out to rot in the sun for a week. Even with his nose held closed, Daniel could practically taste the putrid stench. He watched in abstract horror as Sam and Teal'c happily munched on the vegetable, seemingly oblivious to the smell.

"You know, I think I just lost my appetite." Daniel's voice came out nasally as he set down his bowl.

"You and me both." Jack muttered, shaking his head as he wandered away, likely to put as much distance between him and the rotting stench.

With their gear packed up, the team began to move downhill, heading towards the flatter, grassy plains. Daniel fell into step beside Sam, but she didn't march next to him, engaging in deep conversation or teasing jokes, as she once did. Instead her movements were erratic; she would stop suddenly to listen intently before continuing on, or she would zig zag across the trail, darting into the forest and disappearing, only to reappear behind him. He realised they were the movements of prey trying not to be hunted.

When she fell back to his side once again, he gently reached out and took her wrist, lightly enough that she could easily pull away from him, but with enough pressure to let her know that he didn't want her to. He felt the muscles in her arm tense, but she allowed his hand to stay there. "Sam, you're safe now. You don't need to run anymore. The Kull warrior is dead." Her face was pointed at the ground, and he craned his neck to peer at her expression. "You killed it, right?" Her brilliant blue eyes met his, and she gave a sharp nod.

Daniel fell silent, his mind wandering back to that hollowed out skull. He released her wrist, not wanting her to feel like he was restraining her in any way. He was surprised when he felt her knuckles brush his. He looked down at their hands, then up to her face. Her lips were moving, formulating different shapes until finally, sounds issued from her mouth.

"Dan…eel." She croaked, her voice so harsh and wispy from disuse that he barely recognised it, but it was certainly hers and, more importantly, she had said his name. Daniel halted in his tracks, Sam stopping a step in front of him. Joy threatened to make his heart explode in his chest, and he couldn't help the gigantic grin that crawled, unbidden, across his face. The first words she had spoken had been his name.

A laugh bubbled up in Daniel's chest and escaped from his lips, "Yeah, Sam. It's me." Her hand twitched forward, and he reached down to meet it, touching her wrist first, his fingers sliding across her palm until they settled in the familiar spaces between her fingers. She glanced down at their joined hands, then back up at him, something in her hardened gaze softening. She didn't pull away.

"Daniel! Quit lagging, would you!" Daniel broke his gaze away from Sam, his head snapping up to see Jack glaring back at him from the front of the pack. They quickly caught up to the rest of the team, though, Daniel noted with glee, Sam did not release his hand.

**'****~*~*~*~'**

It was three hours before Daniel was finally freed. Three hours of debriefings, reports, and post-mission medical checks before he was finally allowed to shower, change, and go see Sam.

Janet had already briefed General Hammond and the team on Sam's condition, and it wasn't pretty.

_"__She's…survived, surprisingly." Janet's gaze flicked over each member of the team before coming back to General Hammond. "She's severely malnourished, dehydrated, has multiple minor skin lacerations and contusions. She has a mostly-healed puncture wound through her lower left abdomen, but has traces of internal scarring. She has burn scars across her upper thigh, her left arm, her back – likely from that thing that was chasing her. She has a somewhat healed spiral fracture in her right femur, several fractured ribs, and a broken finger which healed incorrectly, which I will have to re-break and re-set properly. And, she has a full thickness laceration down the left side of her face, which I suspect will need surgery to minimise the scarring."_

_Janet gave each member of SG-1 and her patient's father a once over. Teal'c was staring stoically at the wall, his lips pressed in a hard line. Jack was fidgeting uncomfortably in his chair. General Carter was frowning down at his steepled hands. And Daniel, who sat next to her, suddenly took on a very pale hue, and for a moment she was worried that she would have two members of SG-1 in her infirmary. She laid a gentle hand on Daniel's arm. "But she's alive, and she's going to be just fine." She offered the ashy-looking man a soft smile, and he gratefully returned it._

Steeling himself, Daniel pushed open the infirmary door, tentatively moving towards the only occupied bed in the room. She'd been cleaned up; the muck and blood washed away from her skin and hair, her wounds bandaged, her filthy rags exchanged for a clean hospital gown. She looked to be sleeping; her eyes closed, hands resting loosely in her lap. But when Daniel approached, the blue orbs flew open wide, her whole body tense, her hands half raised and fingers curled into claws. Daniel halted, raising his unoccupied hand, palm out, in a calming gesture. "Sam, it's just me. You're okay, it's me." He tried to make his voice as soothing and non threatening as possible. Sam visibly relaxed, sinking back into the pillow, but her eyes still followed his every movement as he approached. He gave her a reassuring smile, trying to ease her wariness.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked softly. She didn't reply, her gaze falling instead to the metal tray in his hands.

"Are you hungry? I know Janet's been tube feeding you, but I bet you haven't had a good, hot meal since you left. You certainly don't look like you've had much of any meal, really." As she reached out to take the tray of cafeteria food from him, he eyed the skinniness in her arms, the too-thin wrists, and his expression turned melancholy, anguish tightening like a rubber band around his heart.

Sam picked up a baby carrot with her fingers, her eyes still locked on him as she sniffed it once, then shoved it into her mouth. Daniel smiled at her encouragingly, and she finally turned her gaze to the tray in her lap, wolfing down its contents, the knife and fork that lay to the side remaining untouched.

Daniel heard the clicking of heeled footsteps, and turned as Janet walked into the med bay, scribbling on her clipboard. She glanced up with a smile as she approached them, sharing a look with Daniel briefly before turning her attention to her patient. "And how's our patient doing to-" Janet gasped loudly, freezing for a split second as her expression turned to shock, then she was moving, throwing her clipboard down on the foot of the bed as she rushed to Sam's side.

"Oh no! No, no, no!" Janet tried to pull the tray from Sam's lap, but Sam grabbed hold of it too, her face contorting in anger. "Sam, you can't eat that. It'll make you-" Sam suddenly let go of the tray, some of its contents smooshing over Janet's crisp, white lab coat, as Sam hunched over the side of the bed and proceeded to empty the contents of her stomach onto the floor.

"Be sick." Janet belatedly finished, grabbing a napkin from the tray and wiping remnants of mashed potato from her coat.

Daniel moved towards Sam as Janet called for a nurse. Tentatively, he placed a hand on her back, rubbing in soothing circles. He felt her tense beneath her touch, but she did not pull away which he took to be a good sign. Two nurses rushed in, one placing a sick bag in Sam's hands, and the other grabbing a biohazard kit to begin cleanup.

"I'm sorry Janet, it's my fault." He looked to Janet, his eyes shining with guilt and his mouth pulled into a grimace. "I thought she would be hungry. I-I-I didn't know..."

"It's alright, Daniel." The doctor placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "She'll be okay. She just needs time to get used to cooked foods again. She's been eating mostly raw plants and insects for the past six months, and not a lot of that either. She'll need time to adjust."

Daniel nodded, but the worried expression still remained on his face as he turned back to Sam.

Sam had finally stopped heaving. She straightened up, turning to glance at Daniel and the doctor as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, giving the sick bag to the awaiting nurse.

"M'okay." She mumbled, her voice still rough and raspy from disuse. Janet moved away for a moment as Daniel gingerly sat on the bed at Sam's side; she returned with a wash basin and water. Janet poured water into the cup and held it out for Sam to take. "Here, rinse." Sam obediently took the cup and brought it to her lips, her cheeks puffing out as she swished the water around her mouth. Janet held out the wash basin for Sam to spit into.

"Now drink, _slowly_." Sam sipped at the remaining water in the cup as Janet pulled out a packet of sanitary wipes. She proceeded to pull one from the plastic, when a large hand encased hers, halting her.

"I'll do it." Daniel murmured quietly, not quite meeting her gaze. Silently, Janet retreated back a step, watching as Daniel ever so gently took one of Sam's hands between both of his and proceeded to wipe the traces of sick from her skin. Janet watched the way Sam's eyes flickered from Daniel's face to his hands. Smiling knowingly, Janet silently exited the room and ordered her nurses not to disturb them, leaving the two to share their private moment.

Daniel repeated his ritual with her other hand, then, with a clean cloth, reached over to wipe the perspiration from her brow. He paused as she flinched, his heart sinking down into the region of his stomach, but he pushed forward, more slowly, and her eyes closed as she allowed it.

He pressed the cool cloth to her forehead, stoking softly down her cheek and brushing it across her lips. He dropped the cloth back into the basin, and reached up with his other hand to touch her face. Her eyes flew open and she inhaled sharply at the contact of another human, but she didn't smack his hand away. Daniel cupped her cheek, his gaze searching hers – he could see reason fighting panic within the azure depths. His forefinger lightly brushed down the length of the raised scar that marred the side of her face; the jagged, red line stretching from the hairline at her temple to the edge of her jaw.

A lump stuck in Daniel's throat and he swallowed it down harshly. He would have given anything, even his own life, to protect her from this, to prevent her from enduring horrors he could only imagine. Daniel closed his eyes against the pain and anguish and guilt that threatened to overwhelm him. She didn't need his pity now. What she needed was his strength, his patience, his love. And he would give it to her. He would be whatever she needed him to be, whenever she needed him; he would gladly never leave her side again.

Daniel hadn't noticed their faces had drifted closer until Sam's bandaged hand reached up, her warm fingertips stroking the wetness from his cheek. She glanced at the droplets on her fingers, then back up to him in surprise. "I missed you." He whispered, responding to her unasked question. "So, so much." He exhaled a shaky sigh. "You have no idea how much." He offered her a weak smile, and was delighted when the corner of her lips quirked up in return. He wished she would talk to him, scream at him, anything, but he knew it would take time. That was fine, he would give her all the time he had left on this Earth – or any other planet for that matter.

His eyes wandered to her full bottom lip, and he bit his own, dropping his gaze to the sheets and letting his hand fall from her face. He was a selfish prick; here she was lying in a hospital bed after a horrifying ordeal, and all he could think about was kissing her, and all he wanted to know was how she felt about him.

Lost in his angst, he was surprised to feel warmth encasing his hand. He opened his eyes, marvelling as her smaller hand slowly covered his, their fingers entwining on the white sheets. He glanced up to meet her gaze, the cobalt blue swirling with emotions he couldn't quite grasp.

Daniel felt his heart swell, tightening in his chest until he couldn't breathe. Unable to do anything else about the feelings threatening to burst from his chest, Daniel bent over their joined hands, pressing his lips to her warm skin. He smiled up at her, his eyes suddenly prickling with moisture. "I'm so very happy that you're back, Sam. That you're here…with me." Daniel felt his heart soar as Sam's mouth curved upwards in a hesitant smile – the first smile she had allowed since they found her, and he squeezed her hand a little tighter, unwilling to ever let go of it again.


	4. Yuanfen

**Chapter 4. Yuanfen**

/n/ (Chinese) a relationship wrought by fate or destiny; the binding force that brings two lovers together.

* * *

Daniel was headed for the infirmary when he almost bumped into Jacob.

"Oh, Daniel, I was hoping to run into you before I left." The elder Carter smiled kindly at the archeologist.

"You're leaving?"

Jacob nodded, placing his hands casually in his pockets. "I'm long overdue to return to my position with the Tok'ra. They've allowed me this time due to the circumstances, but with the alliance having fallen apart, I really need to be there now." He glanced off in the direction he had just come from. "I just said goodbye to her."

Daniel offered the General a comforting smile. "She'll miss you."

The General met his gaze, returning his smile. "She said as much. Take care of her for me, won't you Daniel?"

Daniel's eyebrows drew together, raising in his sincerity. "Of course. Of course I will."

The General smiled, placing a hand on the doctor's shoulder. "I know you will, son, I know you will. She will need you now more than ever." Jacob pat his shoulder, and with that, he left, heading for the Gateroom.

Daniel continued on his way to the infirmary, hands his pockets as he mulled over the General's words. He mentally shook himself when he came across Janet, focussing his wandering mind.

"Oh Daniel, there you are. She's all yours now. But," Janet waved a stern finger at the archaeologist, "I expect you to make sure she's sticking to doctors' orders. No strenuous activities, and make sure she's eating enough."

Daniel grinned, giving the chief medical officer a mock salute. "Yes doctor!"

Janet's stern expression softened into a smile. "Go on, then. She's just in there with Jack now." She didn't miss the hesitation that flashed across the younger man's face.

Daniel quietly entered the infirmary, instantly spotting Jack sitting silently at Sam's bedside. He wondered why he wasn't saying anything, or maybe he had only fallen silent when Daniel had entered. He approached the two comrades, plastering a smile on his face. "Ready to get out of here?"

Sam nodded enthusiastically, already scrambling out of bed. Jack looked up at the archaeologist, a frown on his face. "Oh, uh, I was going to offer to do that."

Daniel shrugged, not quite meeting the Colonel's eye. "S'alright. I got her. I've already been read the riot act by Janet anyway." He was only half joking.

He turned to Sam, who was still standing by the bed, waiting impatiently. "I brought you some of your clothes from your locker. Do you, uh, want to change?" Sam nodded again, taking the pile of clothes from him and placing them on the bed before reaching behind her and pulling at the ties of her hospital gown.

"Whoa! Wait a minute, uh, let's just, uh, get out of your way first." Jack shouted, jumping out of his seat and looking uncomfortably at Daniel. The two men stepped away as Daniel drew the curtain divider to give her some privacy.

Jack gave him a side-eyed glance. "Well, uh, gotta get back to…paperwork. But Daniel, if you need anything…" The Colonel let the offer hang, and Daniel gave a grateful nod, before Jack swiftly left the room.

"Dannnn-iel." Sam's uncertain call came from behind the curtain, and Daniel risked a peek. She had most of the ties undone, but she was struggling with the one right in the centre of her back; the scarring across her shoulder blade pulled as she tried to reach behind her. Daniel quickly entered, closing the curtain behind him.

"Here, Sam. Let me get that for you." Gently, he pulled at the ends of the knot, letting it fall undone. His fingertips drifted less than a millimetre from her skin, so close that he could feel her body heat. She shrugged the gown off, and Daniel's eyes were drawn to the scars that littered her back. Some were small and insignificant, merely scratches, while others were more obvious; the largest being the puckered burn mark that marred the skin from her shoulder blade to her neck. As she shimmied into her pants, he found himself staring at her underwear-clad behind; not as plump as he remembered, but it still made him blush deeply, and he quickly averted his gaze.

She turned to face him when she was dressed, gracing him with a brief smile that disappeared almost as quickly as it had come. They left the infirmary, his hand hovering just above the small of her back as he guided her through the corridors. Sam ignored – or maybe didn't notice – the strange looks and odd glances she received from passing personnel, but Daniel certainly noticed, and he glared at every one of them.

When they reached the elevators, Daniel pressed the button, and the doors opened with a ding. He entered, waiting for Sam to join him, but she never did. He frowned at her in confusion, "Sam, are you coming?" But she remained rooted to the spot. His arm shot out over the elevator doors as they began to close, forcing them back open. "Sam?"

Sam shook her head violently, and Daniel glanced around at the interior of the elevator. "Ooookay. We can take the stairs?" He offered, and Sam appeared to consider this before nodding.

Daniel kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as they began the long, arduous climb up twenty flights of stairs. She obviously noticed and deduced what he was thinking, because she answered his unasked question. "Elevators. No exits."

"Ah." He nodded. It made sense, though it bothered him that she'd had been home for two weeks now and she was still thinking like a trapped animal. Did she still not feel safe here? Did she not feel safe with him?

"You know, Janet's going to kill me if she finds out I let you take the stairs." The comment earned him an upward quirk of the lips, and she side-eyed him, smirking, as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Ohh, I see, just gonna throw me to the wolves, huh?"

Sam's head snapped up, and she stumbled on the top step; Daniel's arms shot out on reflex to steady her. She gripped his forearms, glancing over her shoulder nervously, as if expecting someone to be there.

"Sam?" Daniel bent his knees a little to try and see her expression. "What is it?" He thought for a moment, wondering what could have possibly spooked her. Was it something he said? "Is… Was it wolves?" Sam's wide, startled eyes met with his, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. Her lips parted in a sigh as she visibly forced herself to relax. She began to pull away, but he refused to let her go.

"Oh Sam." His voice breaking on her name, he pulled her in closer, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight against his body like he had wanted to do ever since they found her running wild in the forest. "I'm so sorry." He whispered into her hair, his voice threatening to break apart. "I'm so sorry we didn't find you sooner. I'm sorry I wasn't there…"

Her tense body relaxed into his arms at his words, and he was relieved when he felt her palms press gingerly against his back. He rocked her gently, swaying from side to side on a landing halfway up an empty stairwell, but at that very moment, he didn't even care if the President himself caught them.

Eventually, they broke apart, and Sam stared at him for a long moment, before continuing upwards. Daniel allowed himself a small smile when Sam slipped her hand into his.

The rest of the journey to Sam's place was made in silence, and when they reached the house, he was almost hesitant to step inside.

"I hope you don't mind, I, uh, cleaned up a little while you were…away. There was...dust." He finished lamely, dropping his overnight bag at the end of Sam's hallway. Sam wandered from room to room, touching things. When she came to her bed, she flopped down on it, spread out like a starfish. Daniel leant against the doorjamb, his arms folded across his chest and one leg crossed over the other. He smiled softly, "Bet you missed sleeping in your own bed, huh?"

Sam nodded, rolling onto her side and snuggling her head into her pillow, humming in contentment.

"Are you tired? I'll let you sleep." Daniel turned to close the door, but her voice stopped him.

"Daniel." She was sitting half up, her arm outstretched to him. Daniel shook his head, remembering the last night he was in her bed. "I, er, don't know if that's such a good idea…" She flopped back against the pillows, but her sharp gaze remained on him, watching, waiting. He dithered in the doorway for a moment before giving in – though to be fair, the logical part of his mind wasn't really putting up much of a fight either.

Toeing off his shoes, he gingerly laid down along the edge of the bed facing Sam, making sure there was still plenty of distance between them. She rolled to face him, her palm pressed against the mattress between them, and he slid his hand across the gap to take it. She smiled at their entwined hands, and wriggled a little closer, letting her eyes flutter closed.

Daniel watched her as she drifted into slumber. His eyes roamed over the two faint scars on her cheek, and the large, angry scar that ran down the side of her face, though it was much less raised and obvious now since her surgery. And although it still pained him to see the evidence of her suffering, his heart felt lighter than it had in six long, dark months, and Daniel fell into the most peacefully dreamless sleep that he'd had in what felt like forever.

'~*~*~*~'

"Right, are you finally going to let me attack that hair today? You wouldn't let any of the nurses near it while you were on the base."

Sam paused, a forkful of pancake that Daniel had made halfway to her lips. She looked up at him apprehensively, then resumed slowly eating her breakfast without answering him.

"Don't worry, I'll be gentle." He brushed his hand down her arm, smiling down at her reassuringly. He headed for her bathroom, "And drink your smoothie!" He called over his shoulder, missing the face she pulled at him as she sipped on the disgustingly thick, fortified supplement shake that Janet was making her drink. He rummaged through the cupboard under the sink until he found her hair brush and a bottle that stated 'conditioning spray'.

Once he had cleaned up the dishes from their breakfast, Daniel sat Sam down on the couch, turning her sideways with her back to him, and settling her between his legs. He started in small sections, plying the hair with plenty of conditioning spray before, very slowly and gently, working out the knots and tangles. It had grown long over the months she had been missing, now falling somewhere around the middle of her shoulder blades. It took him the better part of two hours, and Daniel's arms were aching by the time he had finished, and Sam had almost fallen asleep in his lap. But there was one section at the nape of her neck that was dreadlocked so severely that Daniel couldn't save it, and he had to cut it off.

"Should have cut it all off." Sam muttered when he was done. Daniel quickly placed the scissors on the coffee table in case she got any ideas.

"Well, you could have told me that two hours ago." Daniel teased gently, running his fingers through her now silky-smooth golden waves. "Besides, I like it long." She tilted her head all the way back to look up at him, her blue eyes wild and bright, and Daniel had to fight the urge to kiss her upside-down face.

Daniel cleared his throat, shifting away from her to hide the heat rising to his face. "Why don't you go shower, er, wash all that out of your hair?" She turned around to look at him normally, her expression unreadable. "Okay." She said softly, jumping up to do just that.

Daniel sighed, ruffling a hand through the length of his hair. He hadn't bothered to cut it since Sam had gone missing, and it was now almost as long as it had been when he'd first left for Abydos.

Not knowing where they stood was driving him crazy. All he wanted to do was take her into his arms and hold her, kiss her, make love to her, and never let her go. But he'd never had any idea how she felt about him even before they spent that first unplanned night together, and he certainly didn't know any more now. He'd realised his own feelings for her had only grown deeper while she was gone; her absence had felt like a piece of his soul was missing, and the pain of not knowing if she was alive or dead was unbearable. But what he didn't know is how she felt about him now, whether time and suffering had doused her 'crush'. Or maybe she had never really felt that way at all. Maybe she really had just been trying to get over Pete that night, and maybe now she expected him to just be her friend.

That was the thought that hurt the most.

'~*~*~*~'

Daniel had put in for two weeks leave to help Sam 'reacclimatise', according to what he had put on his leave form. He went grocery shopping for her, and cooked most of her meals. He coaxed her into quiet activities; a walk through the park, watching the sun set over the lake, he even dragged her to his favourite library, where they spent the afternoon browsing through the aisles of dusty books, and the pile that they each took home was more than enough to last them to the end of his leave.

And slowly, so slowly, it seemed like she was getting better. She no longer flinched when he touched her, she no longer froze like a deer in headlights whenever there was an unexpected noise, she was even eating meat again. Her bone-thin frame became a little less obvious, though she still had a ways to go in that department, but she managed to fill out a little of the muscle she'd lost, her form lithe and wiry.

But most importantly, she was beginning to get her voice back. Not that she had ever lost the physical capability of speaking, as Janet had assured him, she'd just had no use for talking, and no one to talk to. She had grown accustomed to the silence – had depended on it. She'd managed to sneak up on him more than once and just about scare the life out of him, her footsteps absolutely silent, even on the squeaky wooden floorboards.

She was still quieter than she used to be, especially so when there were other people around. But she seemed to be becoming much more relaxed and open around Daniel, which pleased the archaeologist to no end. She wasn't her old self again yet – not by a long shot – but it was a step in the right direction.

It was Saturday morning when Daniel's cell phone rang.

"Hey Daniel."

"Hi Jack. What's up?"

"Oh, I was just thinking it'd be good to get together for a team barbecue, it's been a while, you know?"

"Oh, ah, yeah okay, sure."

"You, uh, haven't seen Carter lately, have you? I've been trying to call her to invite her along but her phone's off or something."

"Oh, yeah, she forgets to charge it now. Hang on, I'll ask her."

Daniel put his thumb over the phone's speaker and walked into the living room where Sam was sprawled across the couch, reading one of his library books.

"Hey Sam, Jack wants us to do a team dinner at his place, do you feel up to going?"

Sam's eyes skimmed over the top of her book, glancing at him, and she gave a half-hearted shrug. Daniel took that as a yes.

He put the phone back to his ear. "Yeah sure we'll be there. What time do you want us?"

"Us? Oh." There was a brief pause before Jack spoke again. "Uh, any time after three is good. Bring some beer."

"Okay Jack, see you then." Daniel frowned down at the phone as the call ended. He thought Jack had sounded kind of weird. Had he forgotten that Daniel had been helping Sam with her recovery? Maybe he was just anxious to see Sam, it had been almost a week since Daniel had taken her home. The thought made his gut wrench uncomfortably.

Pushing it out of his mind, he turned to watch Sam as she read, her ankles crossed and her golden hair fanned out over the arm of the lounge. She looked relaxed, at peace, and it made Daniel smile. Deciding to join her, he picked up his own book from where he had left it on the coffee table, and lifted up her feet, sliding into the spot and letting them rest in his lap. His fingers traced patterns over her ankle as he removed his bookmark and picked up where he had left off. The book she was reading hid Sam's blushing smile.

When three o'clock rolled around, Sam and Daniel packed themselves into Daniel's car and headed off to Jack's place.

"Daniel. Carter." Jack greeted them at the door with a friendly nod and ushered them through to the backyard as Daniel handed him the six-pack of beer he'd brought along. Daniel was surprised to see Janet and Cassandra were also there.

"Daniel!" The doctor's eyes lit up as she moved to give him a hug, Cassie wasn't far behind.

"Ooof! Good to see you too, Cass." Daniel wheezed under the young teen's constrictor-like arms. Cassie bounded over to Sam, but didn't immediately wrap her in a bear hug like she had with Daniel.

"We missed you, Sam. Mom said I have to ask before I hug you now." The teen shuffled her feet awkwardly. Sam glanced over to Daniel and Janet, then returned her gaze to the teen. "No, don't ask. It's okay." She held out her arms and Cassie happily entered the embrace, though it was far more gentle than the one she had given Daniel.

"She seems to be doing much better." Janet murmured, watching as the two women moved to join Jack and Teal'c sitting around the table on the deck. "Her response to physical contact has improved dramatically, and she even said more than two words." Janet looked to him, eyebrows raised.

"Samantha Carter!" Daniel heard Teal'c boom as the Jaffa stood and bowed deeply. "I am most pleased that you are well enough to join our team activities once again. It has been, I believe the Tau'ri expression is, a sausage-fest?" Daniel snorted, suppressing a laugh at Jack's offended look.

His gaze trailed back to Sam and his grin faded as he gave Janet his reply. "Mm, yeah, she still doesn't say as much as I'd like her to though, and she won't talk about what happened to her." Daniel watched her with his ever-present worried expression as she sat with the others, smiling along, but not really engaging in the conversation as she once would have done.

Janet watched the archaeologist watch the astrophysicist, and smiled to herself. "Don't be so hard on yourself Daniel. She looks better in one week with you than she did in two weeks in my infirmary with around-the-clock care. I guess whatever special attention you're giving her is working, Daniel." Smirking, she glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye as he gaped at her, struggling to come up with an appropriate response. She patted the poor, flustered soul on the shoulder, then wandered off to join her daughter.

Daniel sat himself next to Sam as the food was served; the charcoal was scraped from Jack's steaks, and many beers were consumed. The laughter and conversation that flowed around the table felt to Daniel just like old times. Even Sam contributed a word here and there.

When the plates were cleared away, Daniel slipped into the kitchen to make up Sam's nutritional shake. He emptied the sachet into a glass and filled it half with water and half with milk from Jack's fridge; she liked it better that way. He was stirring it vigorously when Jack entered behind him.

"Well that doesn't look like beer." He looked pointedly at the mud-coloured concoction in the glass.

"How observant of you, Jack," Daniel smirked, rinsing off the spoon in the sink. He turned and leant against the counter as the Colonel pulled two more beers from his fridge and handed one to Daniel. "It's for Sam. Janet's got her on these fortified supplement shakes, to help her build her weight back up."

"Ah," Jack nodded, taking a swig from his beer, "good, she needs some more meat on those bones. She got way too skinny."

Daniel frowned deeply, perturbed by the comment. Jack fiddled silently with the label on his beer bottle for a moment. "So, you'd have to be going over to her place often then, helping out with all the…shakes and whatnot."

Daniel took a few chugs of beer to avoid answering the question for as long as possible. He knew this might have come up, but it didn't make it any less uncomfortable. "Actually, I, uh…have been staying over, couple of nights. You know, in case she needs anything."

"Huh." Jack said after a long pause, and that was all he said.

Daniel quickly escaped from the awkwardness under the pretence of bringing Sam her shake. When he set it down in front of her she grimaced, pulling a face at Cassie. Daniel remained unamused. "Drink it, Sam." He commanded gently, his hand grazing over her shoulder before he took his seat next to her.

"Sorry Sam, you'll have to remain on those shakes for probably another week or so. You don't look like death anymore, but your body weight ratio is still dangerously low. Luckily you have Nurse Daniel here to help you." The doctor teased, her eyes twinkling, and Daniel had to fight down his blush while still staring sternly at Sam.

Sam made another face, but took a sip anyway. "I'll get fat again."

"You were never fat, you were always beautiful." Daniel murmured without thinking, his fingers finding hers across the table. Realising he'd said that out loud, he quickly pulled his hand away and glanced around the table, hoping that no one but Sam had heard him. Teal'c, who was sitting right next to Sam, seemed to be fighting a smile, and Daniel scowled at him. But then Sam was grinning up at him, her blue eyes sparkling, and Daniel decided it was worth Teal'c giving him the Inquisitive Eyebrow.

They'd moved inside when night had fallen and the temperature began to drop. Jack and Cassie were trying and failing to build a card pyramid, having given up on Go Fish, and Daniel was chatting with Teal'c about the first known Goa'uld dialect and its impact on the etymology of the current language, when Sam sleepily dropped her head onto his shoulder, curling up next to him. His arm automatically moved to wrap around her, but he thought better of it in present company, and let his hand fall back into his lap.

"I'd better take her home." He murmured, gazing down at her peaceful dozing face.

"Yeah, we better get going as well." Janet tapped the young girl on the head as the tower of cards crumbled to the table yet again. "It's past your bedtime."

Daniel gently shook Sam awake, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face. He thanked Jack as he stood, and bid everyone farewell.

"Goodnight, everyone. It's…nice to be back." Sam smiled softly, waving over her shoulder as she and Daniel headed for the door. Daniel did wrap his arm around her shoulders now, letting her lean against him and he guided them towards his car.

Janet and Cassie shared a look. "Aw, mom, they're so cute."

"Indeed."

"What? Who?"

"Oh Colonel, you can't be that blind."

"Hmph." Jack grumbled, returning his focus to his almost-complete card tower.

Teal'c stood, "accidentally" bumping the coffee table and sending Jack's tower cascading to the ground again. Jack glared up at him. The Jaffa raised The Eyebrow.

'~*~*~*~'

Daniel finished brushing his teeth and exited the bathroom, stopping Sam as she passed by him on the way to her bedroom. He diligently averted his eyes from her bare legs and tiny pyjama shorts, focussing his concern on her face instead. "Hey, was today okay?"

Sam nodded, turning to face him, and Daniel then realised that he had stepped in far closer than he had intended. "Yes, it was good to be with everyone again." Her cobalt eyes bored into his. "Thank you, Daniel." She whispered, her warm breath ghosting across his chest. He brushed his fingertips across her cheekbone and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, delighting in the way her eyes closed at his touch.

"Goodnight, Sam." He murmured, pressing his lips to her forehead. He lingered there for far too long, inhaling her scent and stealing her warmth, before fleeing to the relative safety of the living room. Daniel flicked off the lights and flopped down on the couch that was his makeshift bed, throwing his arm across his eyes and trying to banish the memories of their naked, entwined bodies from his mind. He tossed and turned for a long time before he eventually fell asleep.

Daniel wasn't sure what had awoken him at first, and he had almost drifted back to sleep when he heard it again.

A strangled whimper. A hushed groan. And then something that was almost a scream.

Daniel jumped up from the couch, not bothering to find his glasses, and crept down the hallway. He softly pushed Sam's bedroom door open. She was tangled up in the sheets; the white cloth wrapped around her waist and twisted around her legs. Her features were warped in agony, and choked cries escaped her lips. She was clearly in the throes of a terrible nightmare; Daniel had heard her cry out in the night before, but never like this.

Tentatively, he approached her bedside, getting down on his knees so she wouldn't be startled by some hulking figure looming over her if she happened to wake up. Absently, he thought he recalled reading somewhere that you weren't meant to wake people having a nightmare – or was that sleepwalking? Either way, he couldn't stand to listen to her suffering. She had done enough of that.

He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle shake. "Sam? Sam wake up. You're just dreaming, Sam." Her face seemed to relax, and he thought maybe she would go back to sleep. Then her eyes flew open wide, and Daniel barely had time to register that her features had twisted into something dark and feral, before she was on him.

Daniel was suddenly on his back with Sam straddling his chest, her knees digging painfully into his underarms, and her hands wrapped around his neck, her irrationally strong fingers slowly squeezing the life out of him. He was suddenly hit with déjà vu of his own nightmare, of being strangled to death by the Supersoldier, and terror gripped his insides. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move; she had his arms pinned and his legs were bent awkwardly under him from where he had been kneeling. All he could do was desperately pull at her hands and stare up into her savage eyes – not the eyes of the woman he loved, but of something wild and dangerous.

"Sam!" He managed to choke out with the last of his breath as darkness swam at the edges of his vision. Then the shadow passed from her eyes, and she blinked once, twice, before suddenly releasing him with a gasp. She jumped away from him, scuttling back into the opposite corner of the room as he coughed violently and gasped for breath, his hands rubbing at his abused neck.

Daniel sucked in huge lungfuls of air, trying to calm his racing heart. His throat protested forcibly, and for a moment he thought he might be sick, but the feeling passed. He awkwardly crawled forward on his hands and knees, trying to make out her figure in the dark. "Sam?" He rasped, the action forcing another coughing fit from his throat.

"Daniel..." He barely heard her whisper in the dark, and he crawled in the direction it had come from. He could just make out her form now; hunched in the corner, curled tightly in a ball, her face buried in her hands.

He wanted to say something; to tell her that it was alright, that he knew she didn't mean to, that it wasn't her fault, but he feared the pain it would cause him. So instead, he gathered her into his arms, pulling her shaking body close until she stopped trying to push him away, and held her there, rocking them both gently and trying to tell her without words that he was okay, that he forgave her, that he loved her.

They stayed like that for a long time, Daniel rubbing soothing circles on her back while she shuddered in his arms. When she eventually quieted, she straightened up a little, pulling her head away from where she had buried it in his chest. She looked up at him, her sorrowful eyes glistening with tears in the dark. "I'm sorry, Daniel, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…to…I thought…" She gasped, trying to hold in a sob, and Daniel tucked her head back under his chin, holding her close to his heart.

"Shhh. S'okay. It's okay. Shhh." His voice was rough and gravelly, but it held. He scooped her up in his arms, rising to his feet, and moved them both to the bed. He laid down with her, scooting under the covers, too afraid to let go. He stroked her hair softly, and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"Tell me."

It was a long time before Sam obliged, but eventually she did. She let it all out; everything that had happened, everything she had suffered. She talked of being hunted, of the constant cycle of adrenaline pumping you up, then wearing you down. She talked of starvation, of the gnawing pain deep within, of the things she had to eat, the things she had to do to survive, of how long she went without. She talked of fear, of the constant feeling of something lurking in the dark, just beyond her senses, of hearing wolves growl all around, and having to climb a tree to wait them out, of falling from the top of a waterfall and thinking, for sure this time, she was going to die. And she talked of death, how many times she had narrowly escaped it, how many times she didn't think she would, and of course, what it felt like to be death, to take that creature's life so violently, savagely, gleefully.

Daniel only listened, never interrupting as she poured out her soul, absorbing everything she was willing to give him. She talked until the sky outside began to lighten; until she couldn't talk anymore.

She fell silent, curled into Daniel's side as he ran his fingers up and down her spine. She lifted her head to look up at him, swirling pools of sapphire opening to him, bared and naked. Love filled his heart, tightening in his chest like a warm embrace. He brought his hand up to brush his fingers across her soft cheek. Her lips parted at his touch, and his eyes were drawn to their fullness, and then so was his mouth.

His kiss was soft and gentle at first; asking permission, which she gladly granted. Sam responded in kind, opening her mouth to him and pressing her body closer, her hands finding the firm wall of his chest. He wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her close. His lips moved across hers, capturing her lips again and again until he couldn't take any more. He pulled away, panting slightly as he leant his forehead against hers.

She sighed as she dropped her head down into the crook of his neck, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Daniel turned onto his side, pressing his lips to the top of her head as she snuggled into him. Both arms wrapped around her, he tucked her head under his chin and held her close. His fingers resumed their wandering up and down her spine, and Daniel sighed contentedly, happier than he had been in seven long years.

The sun was well past its peak when Daniel woke again. Sam still slept soundly in his arms, and Daniel gazed down at her peaceful face, drinking in her beauty and relishing in the sight of her, the feel of her, not quite believing that she was really in his arms. Softly, he brushed away a strand of her long hair that had fallen in her eyes. His fingers found the scar that marred the side of her face, and he stroked its length; it was now a thinner, relatively-neat surgical scar, rather than an ugly, raised, jagged gash – Janet had done a good job.

Daniel's stomach interrupted rather loudly, and he carefully detangled himself from her arms and silently made his way to the kitchen, figuring Sam would be just as hungry when she woke.

The fresh pot of coffee had just finished brewing when Sam wandered into the kitchen, sleepily rubbing her eyes. "Good morning, Sam." Daniel chirped, fixing her with a bright smile.

"Mmm, morning." Sam mumbled, still half asleep as she blindly felt for the coffee pot and poured two mugs. "That smells amazing." Sam inhaled deeply before she took a sip of her coffee, nodding to the pan Daniel had sizzling away on the stove. Daniel smiled, sliding the spatula under the sandwich and flipping it onto a plate.

"I'll have to swear you to secrecy. This is my Super Special Grilled Cheese recipe." He cut the sandwich in half and slid the plate towards her. "Gruyere, Swiss and Cheddar cheese, prosciutto, dill pickles and caramelised onions." Daniel listed off as she lifted one half of the sandwich and bit into it. Sam moaned loudly at the flavours exploding in her mouth, her eyes rolling back, and Daniel had to look away, his cheeks tinged with pink.

He served up his own sandwich, and grabbed his mug of coffee, taking the seat next to her. "So, what would you like to do today, Major Doctor?" Daniel bit into his own sandwich, pleased that it had turned out well.

Sam glanced up at the clock on the kitchen wall. "Well, seeing as its almost 3 o'clock already, there's not much of today left." She smirked up at him before taking another bite of her sandwich and chewing thoughtfully. "Although…I was thinking…" She trailed off, and Daniel almost thought she wasn't going to finish her sentence.

"Thinking about what, Sam?" He encouraged gently, brushing his fingers down her arm to bring her back to the present. She turned on her stool to face him, but her fingers picked at the crust of her bread nervously. Daniel frowned, what on earth did she have to be nervous of around him, usually it was the other way around.

"Well, I don't know if you remember, but before I…went away, I sort of promised you date." She glanced up at him, gauging his reaction, hardly aware that Daniel's heart had actually stopped in his chest.

"A…a date?" His startlingly blue eyes were wide, his heart, making up for having stopped briefly, was now beating in double time. "I mean, o-of course I remember, I-I just wasn't sure if you…you know…meant it." He finished lamely, rubbing the back of his head.

Sam blessed him with a brilliant, mega-watt smile, and oh, yep, his heart stopped again. He was going to have to see the Doc about a pacemaker at this rate.

"Of course I meant it." Sam murmured softly, reaching up to trace her fingers across his cheekbone. Her touch trailed over his skin, feather-light, then down his neck, stopping at the sore spot across his throat where he knew a bruise had formed. "You'll have to do something about this." She whispered, her voice tinged with regret.

"Well luckily for you, I think I pull off a turtleneck quite nicely." He smiled, trying to lighten to mood, but she didn't return his enthusiasm. Her gaze remained on his neck, her expression melancholy as her fingers traced the purple and distinctly hand-shaped mark. He curled his finger under her chin, raising her head until she met his eyes. "Hey, Sam, it's alright. I'm alright. I understand, I do." She held his gaze, and he could see the warring emotions in those cobalt depths.

She let her head drop to his chest, thunking against the solid muscle. "I'm sorry." Her apology was muffled, but Daniel still caught it. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and rest his cheek against the top of her head, saying nothing in reply but relishing in the comfort she brought him. He wished, he hoped, that she would always stay this close to his heart.

When evening came, Daniel took them to an upscale, but quiet, restaurant. True to his word, he had gone home to get ready and pick up his cream cashmere turtleneck sweater, pairing it with dark brown slacks and deliberating between two almost-identical sports coats, before finally resorting to eenie-meenie-miny-moe out of sheer desperation.

When Sam opened the door, Daniel forgot how to breathe. She was clad in a strappy, low-cut dress, the deep navy colour made her eyes seem impossibly blue and the silky material clung to her thin frame, drawing his eyes to the exposed swell of her breasts and the creamy skin of her bared legs. Her long, golden hair had been pulled into an elegant updo, soft, strategically-placed ringlets framed her face and hid her scar. A matching navy shawl was thrown across her shoulders, likely to hide the burn marks that scarred her back and arm, but she smiled at him with such hope in her eyes that Daniel could almost forget all the horrors she had endured.

She grabbed her coat and they set off, Daniel barely able to keep his eyes on the road the entire way. They ate and drank and talked – well, Daniel still did most of the talking, but Sam was so much more open than she had been when she had first returned to them; she had come a long way, and Daniel made a point to tell her how proud he was of her.

When the plates were cleared, the wine bottle empty, and many of the patrons had left, Daniel stood and offered Sam his hand. "Would you like to dance?" Sam took his hand with a smile, and the elderly black man at the piano grinned to himself as he played a sweeping, melancholy tune, watching the two lovers waltz across the empty dance floor, unaware of anyone or anything but themselves.

Daniel pulled Sam in closer as the song fell into a slower cadence. His hands left hers and wrapped around her tiny waist, fingering the edge of the silky, backless dress. She wound her arms around his neck, taking care to avoid the bruise hidden beneath his sweater. They swayed to the music, turning in a slow circle, their faces drawn close, each lost in the other's gaze.

Daniel felt like he was living one of the many dreams he'd had of this very moment, the daydreams and fantasies of taking her into his arms and professing his love, and she, in turn, would confess she felt the same, and they would seal their love with a kiss. And sometimes, alone late at night, the kiss would turn into something more, and Daniel would jolt awake, sweating and panting, but his arms achingly empty. But this time was better than all those dreams, because this time, though it was not exactly how he had imagined it, it was real. She was real; and his arms were no longer empty.

One hand left her back, skimming up her body to brush against her cheek. He tucked a curled strand of hair behind her ear, his thumb grazing over the scar on her face, hidden by make-up but still raised under his touch. He felt her stiffen slightly at his touch, but he pressed his lips to the tip of the scar at her temple, and met her eyes with intensity, willing her to believe his words. "You are so beautiful, Sam. I could see that the first moment I laid eyes on you on Abydos. And you're as beautiful now as you were then. More so, in fact, because now, you mean even more to me; you mean everything."

He brought his other hand up to cup her face between his palms, halting their swaying motion. His deep, blue-eyed gaze bore into hers, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he steeled himself for the words he was about to say. "I meant it when I said I love you, Sam. I have for a very long time." He confessed; he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest, but he still held his breath as he awaited her response. She held his gaze, her ocean-blue eyes bright and shining with emotion as she leant up on her toes, the arms around his neck pulling him down until their lips met in a passionate kiss.

When they pulled apart, Daniel rest his forehead against hers, resuming their swaying motion. "Daniel…I…I..." Daniel smoothed back her hair, his thumb brushing her cheek. "It's alright, Sam. You don't have to say anything. I just wanted you to know. It was…something that you said, actually." He smiled down at her as she met his gaze, her eyes questioning. "You asked me once why do we always wait to tell people how we really feel. And then when you were missing, I thought I had waited too long, that I had missed my chance to tell you how I really feel. So I promised myself something." He pulled her hand from around his neck, pressed her knuckles to his lips, then held it against his chest. "I promised myself that when we found you, I would tell you, and I would tell you every day for the rest of my life, if you'd let me."

Daniel could see her eyes misting over, and he cradled her head to his chest before the moisture could spill from her bottom lashes. "Come, Sam." He mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "Let's go home." He kissed her nose and slipped his hand into hers as he paid the check and they collected their coats.

Sam had almost dozed off when they reached her house, and Daniel smiled to himself. He jogged around to open the car door for her, and offered his hand to help her out of her seat. She smiled, leaning into him a little as he closed the car door, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they made their way up the steps to the front door.

Daniel took her coat and his and went to hang them in the closet as Sam bent to fiddle with the straps of her heels. "Tea? Coffee? More wine?" Daniel called as he made his way up the hall to the kitchen.

"Tea. Tea would be nice, thank you." She replied, finally able to kick off her shoes. She padded up the hallway and poked her head around the corner. "I'm just going to shower and change, okay?"

"Okay." Daniel turned to smile at her over his shoulder as he filled the jug with water. Sam disappeared down the hall, and it wasn't long before Daniel heard the water running. Daniel took a tea bag from Sam's cupboard and placed it in a mug along with a lump of sugar while he waited for the jug to boil. He poured the last of this afternoon's coffee into another mug and added two lumps of sugar, smiling to himself as he stirred it.

Daniel held the mug to his lips and inhaled before taking a sip, letting the familiar scent wash over him as the liquid warmed his belly. He grinned over the rim of his mug. He'd told her! He'd told her how he felt and she hadn't pushed him away. No, in fact, she'd kissed him. Daniel couldn't help the joy that spread through his bones with the warmth of the coffee; he hadn't been this happy since Abydos. Of course, she hadn't said she felt the same way, but she hadn't outright rejected him either, and Daniel took that as a victory. It would take time, he knew, and he had to be patient with her. After all that she had been through, it would be even harder than before to get her to open her heart, to be vulnerable. But even if he never got that far, even if she never loved him the way he loved her, Daniel knew as long as he was making her happy, it was worth it. And he could make her happy, he would spend every day of his life trying to.

Daniel heard the shower shut off, and he turned to pour the boiling water into Sam's mug and wait for her to shuffle into the kitchen. And waited. And waited. He set his coffee mug down on the counter, dithering over whether to go check on her or leave her be. He heard something like glass smashing, and his decision was made for him.

"Sam!" He called out as he raced down the hall and into her bedroom. "Sam?" He paused to knock on the bathroom door. When there was no response, he tried the door handle. It was unlocked. Cautiously, he pushed it open a crack and poked his head around it, preparing to have something thrown at his head. Instead, what he saw caused him to suck in a sharp gasp.

"Sam!" He called softly, rushing to her side. Her naked form was hunched over, kneeling on the cold tiles and surrounded by the shattered remains of a hand-held mirror that lay broken and discarded at her side. She cradled some of the shards in her hand, in the process of picking up some of the bigger pieces from the floor. She glanced up at him when he burst in, and Daniel could see she had been crying.

"O-oh, D-Daniel." She quickly turned her head away, wiping her face with her free hand. "S-sorry, I must have scared you. I-I just…clumsy." She laughed at herself, barely choking back a sob. Daniel crouched down at her side, glass crunching under his shoes. He reached out to cup her face in both his hands and turned her towards him. "Sam," he murmured, forcing her to meet his eyes, "don't lie to me." He stroked back her wet hair as she looked away, tucking it behind her ear. "You don't have to hide. You don't have to pretend with me."

She turned back to picking up the broken shards off the floor, and Daniel reached back to grab the towel off the hook and drape it around her shoulders, before he joined her in cleaning up the mess. He took the shards from her hands and stood to deposit them in the trash can next to the sink. He turned on the tap to rinse the glass dust from his hands, and helped her lean forward to do the same.

"Don't move." He ordered quietly, pointing to her bare feet. He moved in close to her, wrapping his arm around her back, he bent to scoop up her legs, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her away from danger. He deposited her gently on to her bed, doing his best to ignore the fact that her front was completely bare to him. "Stay here." He murmured, removing his shoes and retreating to collect her vacuum cleaner. He cleaned up the remaining glass in the bathroom, then vacuumed the carpet and the bottom of his shoes, just to be safe. When he was done, he turned to Sam, relieved to find she had secured the towel properly around her.

He sat on the bed beside her, watching as she quietly stared at her knees. He reached around her back to stroke his fingers over the damp ends of her hair. "Sam, talk to me. What happened?"

"I-I don't… I just…" She was wringing her hands nervously in her lap, her fingers twisting and pulling at each other. He covered them both with his larger hand and waited. "I-I just…all those things…all those things you said tonight, Daniel, they just…" She huffed a sigh, frustrated at the words catching in her throat. Tears escaped the corners of her eyes and she hastily wiped them away. She hung her head before continuing, her voice so low it was barely a whisper. "You make me feel…so loved, Daniel. And I…I'm not…worth it."

Daniel had to strain to hear the last words, but when he did, his heart clenched in his chest. He slid from the bed to the floor, not letting go of her hands as he turned to kneel before her. He ducked his head, trying to meet her gaze, but she avoided him. "Sam, you are worth so much more than I could ever give you. I would need a hundred lifetimes to give you the love that you deserve. Why would you think otherwise?"

She shook her head, the tears racing freely down her face now. "No, Daniel. You fell in love with me before… and now I'm not the same. I'm…broken and…scarred and you shouldn't have to…to..." She swallowed, and Daniel felt his own eyes prickle with tears at the distraught look on her face.

"That's not true, Sam." He reached up to cup her face, turning it to his and meeting her watery gaze with his own. "Is that what this is about? Because it's not true. You've always been beautiful, Sam, and you always will be, and I love you." His voice was growing stronger, his grip on her hands tighter, trying to will her to believe, but she pushed him away, angry tears dripping from her eyes. "No Daniel, just look at me."

She surged to her feet and angrily ripped the towel from her body. "Look at me!" She shouted, her face twisted in pain and anger. Daniel slowly rose to his feet, unable to do anything but look at her. "I see you, Sam. I see you." He closed the distance between them, taking her in his arms and pressing his forehead to hers as the tears finally spilled from his eyes. He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed the length of the scar on the side of her face. He curled his finger under her chin and lifted her head to brush his lips against the faint scars on her other cheek, just under her eye, tasting the saltiness of her tears.

He took her face in both hands, resting his head against hers once again, his eyes screwed shut in his anguish. "I love you, Sam. God, I love you so much it hurts." His voice was breaking, but he didn't care, he needed her to know this, he needed her to know how loved she was. "And every one of these scars is a reminder of how lucky I am to have you. A reminder of your strength and power. A reminder of how grateful I am that you are still here with me, alive. And I will worship these reminders every day. Because I'm the one who should be grateful, Sam. I'm the one who isn't worthy. Not you, Sam. Never doubt my love for you."

Daniel was crying along with her now, and he pressed their wet faces together, licking the salt from her lips as they parted for him, and he delved into her mouth. He kissed her passionately, threading his fingers through her hair and crushing her mouth to his, trying to demonstrate with his lips and tongue and hands how much he loved her. She responded to his desperation with her own, wrapping her arms around him and clinging to him, her hands fisting in his shirt.

He broke from the kiss, crushing her tiny body to his as he held her in a tight embrace. He rained kisses down on her hair and whispered his love for her in her ear, swaying gently, until both their tears had dried. He tugged her towards the bed, pulling back the covers and tucking her in when she snuggled down beneath them. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then padded back out into the kitchen. He poured their stone cold tea and coffee down the sink, then got her a glass of water instead, flicking off the light as he grabbed the tissue box from the bench. He handed her the box and the glass and she cleaned her face and blew her nose as he turned off all the other lights, leaving only the bedside lamp on.

She downed a few gulps of water as Daniel removed his shirt and pants and placed his glasses on the bedside table, then crawled under the covers with her. He wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her back into him. He nuzzled into her neck, pressing a kiss just behind her ear. "I love you, Sam." He breathed, his fingers stroking light patterns across her stomach. He dropped his lips to her shoulder, his mouth finding the uneven skin of her burn scar. "I love this part of you." He kissed down her back, across every inch of her scar. He slipped the covers down a little, exposing the scar on her arm. "I love this part of you." He kissed the scar there too, then rolled her towards him, his eyes locking with hers as he tugged the covers down further.

"I love this part of you, too." He brought his lips to the scar on her stomach, kissing the round mark and hearing her gasp above him. His fingers traced circles over her stomach, and he watched her, gauging her reaction as he dared to swoop his touch lower and lower. He watched her breath catch in her throat and her eyes darken, her nipples tightening with arousal. He shifted onto his knees, sliding one knee between her legs to hover over her. He sat back on his heels, his spine curved as he dragged his lips down her side and over her hip, his head dipping under the covers as his lips found the scar on her upper thigh. "And this part." He pressed open-mouthed kisses along the flesh, starting on the outside and moving across to the front of her leg. When he reached the end of the scar he kept going, delighting in her sharp intake of air as his tongue tasted the skin of her inner thigh.

Daniel's lips inched higher, closer. He could smell her arousal as his hands skimmed up her thighs, and he skirted around her centre, pressing a kiss to the skin beneath her belly button instead, and enjoying the disappointed keen that issued from her throat. He kissed down, down, intoxicated by her scent; it made him crazy with need, like the most addictive drug he could imagine, more so even than the Light on P4X-347. He inhaled her, burying his nose in her as a needy whimper escaped her. Daniel lowered himself to his stomach, his tongue darting out to finally taste her, eliciting a low moan from her lips. She was both sweet and tangy, and he set about whole-heartedly exploring her with all the diligence and expertise he would give to any precious archeological artefact.

Her gasps and moans guided him, urging him on as he lapped at her, swirling his tongue around the bundle of nerves there before delving into her opening. He could feel her tightening, her hips pressing forward as her cries became louder. He moved his thumbs to the inside of her thighs, spreading her open for him so that she had no defences against his incessant tongue. She cried out, her back arching and forcing his tongue to press harder against the sensitive nub between her legs, her hips twitching as he took it into his mouth and sucked at it as she rode out her orgasm.

He poked his head out from under the covers, relishing the sight of her splayed out on the bed before him, panting heavily, her taut breasts rising and falling with each breath, and her face flushed with pleasure. He kissed his way back up her body, over the scar on her abdomen and between the valley of her breasts. He lingered there for a moment, nipping and sucking and teasing the taut peaks until she was moaning and writhing beneath him again. Then he continued on, up her arm and over her shoulder, completing the full circle.

He kissed his way up her neck, sucking lightly at the warm pulse point just beneath her skin. He felt her hands skim over his abs and tug at the hem of his boxers, and he brought his hands down to hold hers, stopping them. He lifted his head to gaze into her eyes, taking in the sight of her flushed face and dilated pupils. "No, Sam. Tonight is for you. Tonight is to show you how much I love you." He lowered his face to her lips, kissing her with all the love and passion he possessed.

He begun again; kissing, caressing, worshipping every inch of her skin, and bringing her twice more to a screaming crescendo of pleasure and lust, until she had to beg for his mercy, her body shuddering from the prolonged pleasure. He curled up beside her, ignoring his own throbbing need as he drew the blankets around them and cradled her in his arms. He smoothed down her hair as she caught her breath, her warm pants ghosting across his bare chest. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, then another to her lips. "I am so insanely, deeply, in love with you, Sam. And you are worth everything I could ever give you and more. And if I have to spend every night proving that to you until you believe it, then I will."

She glanced up at him, smiling softly, her eyes glassy with unshed moisture. "Never knew you were such a poet." She murmured sleepily. He chuckled, tucking her head under his chin and pulling her close to his heart where she belonged. He pressed a kiss to her hair as he stroked his fingers through it, the steady repetition of his hand slowly lulling them both into a peaceful and dreamless sleep.


	5. Civitas Solis

**Chapter 5. Civitas Solis**

* * *

Sam and Daniel entered the Gateroom, greeting Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c with a nod as they set about shouldering their packs and clipping their P-90's to their vests. Daniel caught the surreptitious glances that Jack threw at Sam as they prepared for departure. "Hey, Carter," Jack murmured quietly, and Daniel tried not to look like he was listening, "you're sure you're ready to be back out on the field? I know Dr. Frasier and Dr. MacKenzie cleared you for active duty, but if you're still not feeling up to it…"

"No, sir." Sam cut him off, shoving her cap on her head and coming to stand at attention at the bottom of the Stargate's ramp. "I'm good to go, sir."

Daniel smiled down at his boots as he moved to stand at her side. Truth be told, he wouldn't have minded one bit if he and Sam had called in sick for a few more days. They had spent their last week off together cautiously exploring their newfound relationship. Daniel had taken great pleasure in planning their first few official dates, and spending his nights with Sam in his arms. But the information they had gathered so far about this new planet was too fascinating to resist.

The Colonel stood at Sam's other side and clapped her on the shoulder, and Daniel didn't miss the way she tensed at the contact. She could still be so skittish at times. Teal'c joined them, and Jack waved a finger in the air, calling out over his shoulder. "Fire her up, Chief!"

Chief Master Sergeant Harriman started the dialling sequence at the nod of General Hammond, and moments later, the familiar blue glow of the wormhole lit up the room as the unstable vortex whooshed out, then settled back into the rippling puddle that was the event horizon.

SG-1 stepped through, reappearing on PX5-285 to an open, grassy plain and cloudless blue skies. Their welcoming party stood in the knee-high grass, just to the left of the Stargate's platform. Two men and two women, all dressed in identical white, Greek-style togas with a silver metal chest plate that gleamed in the sunlight. One of the men stepped forward, smiling widely as he held out his arms in greeting. "Welcome, brothers and sisters, welcome. I am Cato, Minister of Music, and these are my fellow Solarians; Hiemo," he gestured to the other male, who bowed his head at the introduction, "and Gratia, and Kambria, the Minister of Astrology." The two women also bowed their heads.

Daniel was already bounding down the steps, eager to meet with the members of the new civilisation that had promised to share their knowledge. "It is a pleasure to meet with you. I am Doctor Daniel Jackson." Daniel bowed his head toward Cato in the same manner the man had earlier. He turned, gesturing to his team behind him as they also descended the steps. "These are my teammates, Colonel Jack O'Neill, Teal'C, and Major Doctor Samantha Carter." Sam glanced at him as he said her double designation, the corner of her mouth curving upward.

"We were so pleased to be contacted by another peoples so interested in the pursuit of knowledge. Come, let us share with you." Cato ushered them a small ways into the field, where a horse and cart stood ready for them. But as Daniel drew closer, he realised it wasn't a horse at all. It towered over him, twice the height of a normal horse, its coat a pure cream colour, and its silvery blonde mane was braided intricately with flowers and feathers. It also had some very un-horse-like antlers; large, branching horns, like that of a full grown buck. The wagon itself was open; four wooden poles stood from the corners, a square frame on top, draped in fine, purple cloth, shading the interior.

Daniel clambered up into the wagon at Cato's insistence, finding the floor inside covered with plump pillows of every size and colour. He gingerly took a seat on a cushion in the far corner, and was soon joined by his team and the Solarians. Sam took up residence on the cushion beside him, their knees bumping together the whole ride.

Cato and the other Solarians informed them of what to expect upon their arrival to the city. "It is our tradition to honour our guests for three days and three nights. We hope to gain much and share much during this time. You are welcome to partake in any of our lectures or activities, to visit the temple, and of course, be granted a seat of honour at the nightly feast."

"A nightly feast?" Jack shared a look with Teal'c. "Sounds good to me."

Kambria, the one Cato had introduced as the Minister of Astrology, turned to address Daniel. "Daniel Jackson, I have gathered from our previous communications with your people that your title of 'doctor' indicates you are a student of the Histories and the Geologies, is that correct?"

"Ah, well yes, basically. I have doctorates in archaeology, anthropology, and philology, which means I study ancient civilisations and cultures and their languages on our planet."

"Ah, I see, so you are a student of Sin then, like me." She blinked her warm, brown eyes at him, her smile revealing perfect, pearly teeth, and Daniel felt Sam shift minutely closer to him.

Daniel's eyebrows drew together. "Er, sorry, Sin?"

"Sin, one of the three Viziers to our High Priest, Hoh. Sin is the Vizier of Wisdom, he is responsible for all matters of the liberal arts and sciences. Pon is the Vizier of Power, he oversees all matters pertaining to war and peace. And Mor is the Vizier of Love, she cares for matters of breeding, agriculture, and education. But you, Samantha Carter," she turned her gaze to Sam who stiffened beside him, "you are studied in two disciplines, is that correct?"

"Er, well sort of. I don't have three doctorates like Daniel, I just have the one in astrophysics, but I'm a Major in the United States Air Force, if that's what you mean."

"Yes, you are a student of Sin and Pon. You must be highly revered in your world, is that correct?"

Sam spluttered, blushing adorably, and Daniel couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He jumped in to save her from herself. "Not as much as she should be, but she certainly is revered by some certain people who understand and appreciate her brilliance." Covered by copious cushions, Daniel slid his hand across to Sam's back, finding the gap between her shirt and pants and brushing his thumb reassuringly over the skin there. She glanced up at him from beneath her eyelashes, smirking lightly.

Kambria leaned back, seemingly pleased with his response. The other woman, Gratia, who had been listening to their conversation, decided to pipe up. "So your leader, Colonel Jack O'Neill, he must be very well educated to be in charge of one as knowledgeable as you two, no?" She looked at the Colonel expectantly.

Upon hearing his name, Jack whipped his head around. "Whaa?"

"Err, well, not exactly. You see, it works a little differently where we're from."

Kambria and Gratia looked from Sam and Daniel to Jack in confusion, and Sam tried to explain. "Colonel O'Neill is an officer of the Air Force, like me, but he has a slightly higher rank."

"I see." Kambria muttered, somewhat disdainfully.

"Hey, and! And!" Jack shouted, holding his finger up in the air like he was about to reveal some important revelation. "I happen to be a Master Fisherman." Kambria and Gratia looked at each other, nodding like they were moderately impressed.

Daniel snorted. "Jack, I've never seen you catch even one fish." Jack shot him a dirty look.

"And you, Mister Teal'c? What is your area of expertise?" Cato inquired.

Teal'c inclined his head. "I was formerly the First Prime of Apophis. I was trained in the ways of Basha'ak, under the great Master Bra'tac, where I studied and mastered the ancient arts of Mastaba and Lok'nel."

The Solarians all nodded and smiled to each other, seemingly far more impressed with Teal'c's list of military credentials than Jack's, and Daniel smirked quietly to himself. They were saved from any further awkward questions when the wagon finally came to a halt.

"We have arrived." Cato announced, holding back the purple cloth so that SG-1 could clamber out. Daniel heard Jack's low whistle of appreciation and Sam's exclamation of "Holy Hannah", and he hurried to follow them out of the cart. What he saw made him suddenly lose his affinity for words.

"Wow."

"Welcome to Civitas Solis!" Cato declared as he and the other Solarians exited the cart behind them. "The City of the Sun!"

The shining city was built into a rolling hillside, the buildings glinting white and gold in the sun. They cascaded down the hill, so that, despite the white wall that surrounded the city, Daniel could still see the buildings beyond. Daniel could make out several rows of curved white walls, on top of which sat domes of gold and glass, and at the very top of the hill stood the temple; an open shrine made of pure gold, its tall columns in perfect alignment with the arc of the sun's path.

"Please, come!" Cato chirped happily, oblivious to the astonished daze they all seemed to be in. The wrought iron gate opened as they approached, and Daniel quickly realised that the city was even more marvellous on the inside than it was from the outside.

On the outside, the city wall was white, but on the inside it was completely covered in colourfully painted murals. Daniel could see depictions of men and women who looked like scholars, as well as many writings; his fingers itched with the need to study them. Reluctantly, he followed the others as Cato lead them to the next wall.

The path from the gate lead up several stairs to an enormous marble archway in the next wall, and Daniel could see that it led onward and upward, through another wall, and another, all painted intricately. Between each wall stretched a perfectly manicured sloping lawn, and the walls themselves curved off into the distance, likely encompassing the entire base of the hill. The second wall was almost twenty feet in width and hollow, as they soon discovered. As they moved through it, Daniel could see multiple rooms beyond the archways, since there seemed to be no doors in this place.

"Solis has seven rings," Cato was explaining, "upon each of which is written our knowledge and our history. It is this way so that our knowledge can be read and shared by anyone, so that all will benefit. Our children are raised this way, surrounded by our knowledge and history, and taught by the masters, so that they may excel in all endeavours."

They moved through the next ring, Cato explaining more about the political and military system to Jack and Teal'c, while Daniel took note of the people as they passed by; their hair, their clothing, their jewellery, all were of anthropological significance. He also noticed many of the people gave the newcomers strange looks, some whispering to their friends as they passed.

Daniel leaned over to Sam to whisper conspiratorially. "Is it just me, or do the people here seem…"

"Ridiculously beautiful?" Sam finished.

"Well, yeah." Daniel had not yet seen one flaw among them. All, men and women, were tall, tanned, and beautiful, with dark hair and dark eyes. They all wore the same white toga, the only difference being some wore the metal breastplate and some did not. Every woman's hair was intricately braided, either piled high up on their heads or woven down their backs, and none of them carried weapons that Daniel could see.

"Is that why they're staring at us?"

Daniel squinted as he looked a little closer. "Actually, I think they're staring at you." Looking horrified, Sam blushed and quickly ducked her head. Daniel reached out, wanting to touch her arm or smooth her hair, but then Jack turned around to ask him some nonsensical question, and Daniel quickly dropped his hand. They had not yet told anybody about their fledgling relationship, and Sam wanted to keep it that way, for now at least.

They stopped inside the fifth ring, Cato pausing between the two adjoining arches and spreading his arms wide. "These two sectors are free to use at your pleasure. The feast will begin at sundown, in the inner circle." Cato pointed up to the peak of the hill. "I would be glad to show you around the temple at this time also."

"Thank you, Cato, we would very much appreciate it." Daniel nodded to the man, who bowed his head before turning to take his leave. The others followed suit, bowing their heads as they left. Kambria glanced back at the two scientists with a sly smile, and Sam and Daniel shared a confused look.

"Well, they seem…nice?" Jack shrugged, glancing between the members of his team. Daniel was already moving toward one of the marble arches, the white stone carved with images of entwined vines, wrapping intricately around each arch and gilded with gold.

"Indeed." Teal'c intoned, his eyebrow quirked up in its signature position.

"I did find it strange that they didn't confiscate our weapons, especially since it seems no one within the city carries any sort of weapon with them." Sam glanced over to where Daniel was standing, fingering the carved grooves.

"Perhaps they do not recognise such an advanced form of weapon?"

"I don't think that's it. Well, not entirely anyway." Daniel turned his attention away from the carving to face his team. "I think they just don't comprehend that an act as evil as murder could be contemplated within their city."

"What, they don't have murder?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Well, if what I remember of the book is correct, they have gone to war with enemy kingdoms in the past, so they're not unfamiliar with the concept. But within the city? No, I don't think so - I don't think there would be much of any crime at all."

"How can there be no crime?" "There's a book?" Sam and Jack asked at the same time.

"Well, not a book exactly, more of a short story, I guess. It was a philosophical work, written in 1602 by the Italian philosopher Tommaso Campanella. It was taken as fiction, but the similarities to this place are too obvious to be a coincidence."

"Are you saying that the writer has somehow been here?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know, maybe. Or maybe he was from here in the first place. But the description of the city; the seven rings, the writings on the walls, the leadership structure, it's all the same. They have no crime here because there is no need. Everything they could want for, they are provided. Everyone contributes; they work towards the benefit of the whole, not just the individual. Everything is shared."

"Smells like communism to me." Jack muttered under his breath.

"No, well yes, but in its original, pure form. This is the idealistic concept of a utopian society; there's no crime or suffering, no corruption or greed. It's a community, in the truest sense."

"Right, well, that suits me just fine." Jack shrugged, a half smirk pulling at his mouth, "I grew up in the seventies, I can do hippies." He threw up a peace sign with his fingers, grinning as Daniel rolled his eyes.

Ignoring the Colonel, Sam moved past the archway in which Daniel was standing, the room beyond held a long dining table made of dark wood. Several chairs sat around it, the backs of which were carved delicately with reliefs of dancing or drinking or feasting. Another vine-carved arch led into the next room; this one being some kind of parlour or common room. Low seating ran along the walls on either side, a plethora of brightly-coloured cushions bestrewn across it. Two low coffee tables sat in front of each couch, made of the same dark wood as the dining table and equally as carved with images of merriment. To Sam's left, in the corner of the room, stood a spiralling staircase made of wrought iron. The archway at the end of this room opened to another passageway to the path outside, and beyond that Sam could see the cycle repeat itself; another dining room, followed by another sitting room, followed by another outside passage.

Sam glanced over her shoulder at her teammates; Daniel had been waylaid in the dining room, studying the images on the chair backs, the Colonel had flopped down on the couch at the first chance he got, Teal'c standing diligently beside him. Sam traipsed up the stairs, ignoring the way the scar on her thigh pulled at her skin as she climbed. She squinted against the sunlight; the entire upstairs section was a dome made of glass, rectangular windows held by gold frames made up the walls and curved ceiling and turned the room into an observatory. She stood at the top of the staircase and paused, her eyes landing on something that could pose a problem. "Hoo boy."

"What is it?" She faintly heard Daniel call out from down below. She didn't answer, instead moving further into the room as his footsteps echoed up the metal staircase. "Oh." He breathed when he reached the top, and they shared a loaded glance. At the far end of the room was clearly a bathroom of sorts. There were no windows here at least; the walls melted into the curved ceiling, creating an opaque dome of lustrous gold. An enormous aurous bathtub stood in the centre, large enough to fit at least three or four people. To the right was a large wash basin; the gold sink slotted into a square base made of the familiar dark wood. Beside it was a grand free-standing mirror, and a wooden bench stacked with plush towels. The left side was concealed by a diagonal half-wall, and when Sam peaked behind the white stone, she found a primitive version of a toilet. Yes! Indoor plumbing!

But that wasn't what the problem was. The problem was the one and only gigantic bed that took up the rest of the room. It was at least the size of two king beds put together, covered in plum silk sheets and adorned with a superfluous number of kaleidoscopic cushions. From the posters that framed the bed hung curtains of semi opaque ivory, providing the only privacy in a bedroom made of windows. Across from the bed was a set of drawers, a cream chaise lounge, and an antique-style vanity dresser, also crafted from dark wood.

"What'd you kids find up here?" The Colonel clattered up the stairs, followed silently by Teal'c. His gaze fell upon their current dilemma. "Ah. Well this'll be...cosy." He cocked his head as he glanced around at his teammates, none of which seemed to be appreciating his joke. "Y'know what, I think I'll take the couch anyway. The less I have to walk up and down these stairs the happier my knees will be." His mouth curved into a sly grin and he reached up to clap Teal'c on the shoulder. "You three can decide who has to share." And he left, whistling merrily as he descended the stairs. Teal'c stared down at the two scientists, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyebrow raised as if daring them to object.

Daniel caught Sam's eye as she glanced at him, and he cleared his throat, quickly looking away again. He wandered over to a window and pretended to look out, if only to put some distance between himself and the awkwardness in the room. He removed his glasses, absentmindedly cleaning them with the hem of his shirt as he inhaled deeply to steady his nerves. The next three days were likely to seriously test his acting skills.

'~*~*~*~'

Perhaps an hour later, as the sunlight began to wane and shades of pink and orange streaked across the sky, they were overrun by Kambria and a horde of Solarian women. Gone were the white togas and battle armour, instead, she and the others were dressed in sheer, floaty gowns of red chiffon that left little to the imagination. They swept into the room, each carting piles of fabric or armfuls of jars and vials. Kambria bowed her head. "Brothers and sisters of Earth, please allow us to prepare you for tonight's feast!" She didn't give any of them enough time to formulate a reply; she clapped her hands twice and the women sprang into action. Half a dozen of them ushered Jack and Teal'c away into the adjacent quarters, chattering and giggling as they went. Jack glanced hopelessly over his shoulder at Daniel as he was practically pushed out the doorway, but he would receive no help from the archaeologist. He and Sam themselves were being shooed up the stairs by the remaining women.

Hands pulled at him, tugging at his vest and clothes. Three or four girls surrounded him, smiling and whispering to each other as he stuttered incoherently. "Oh, err, I don't... ah, I mean to say, erm, what..." They pulled him along, towards the bath, and Daniel twisted around, searching desperately for Sam. She was being led toward the vanity, her back ramrod straight as they sat her in the chair and began to untangle her hair. Daniel could practically feel how tense she was.

"Ah, wait, no, Sam, she doesn't..." He tried to explain, to make them understand, but then they were stripping him, yanking at his unfamiliar clothes. He tried to catch their hands, to deflect them, but there were far too many; someone took away his glasses and then he was half blind. He heard water running, sloshing into the tub, and loamy scents wafted over him; lavender, camomile, and something citrusy. He felt someone tugging at his pants. "Oh, ah, wait a minute, no no, I..." He was met with a chorus of giggles as cool air suddenly breezed against places it shouldn't, and he quickly covered himself with his hands, his face burning.

More hands pushed him, forcing him to step into the warm bath, and he quickly sank into the water, hoping that it would give him some cover. Warm, scented water was dumped over his head, and he spluttered, blinking it out of his eyes. Hands wound through his hair, massaging his scalp, and he grunted a little, his eyes fluttering at the relaxing sensation. Another pair of hands rubbed oil over his shoulders, massaging his sore muscles and down his back, lower, lower, lower...

"Okay! Nope!" He surged to his feet, water sloshing over the sides of the tub as he blindly searched for a towel and secured it around his waist. "No no no. Thank you ladies, but I think I can take it from here." The women scattered, squealing and giggling as they finally left him alone. He sank back into the water with a sigh, quickly scrubbing the soap and oils from his hair and body. He dried himself off, glancing around for his clothes, or at least his glasses, but they were gone.

Hesitantly, he stepped out from behind the wall, making sure his towel was very firmly wrapped around his hips and pushing his long, wet hair out of his eyes. "Er, my clothes, um, where..." Kambria approached him, smiling softly – at least, he thought she was smiling. "I apologise if my girls were too, ah... forward with you, Daniel Jackson. We do not regard the human body as shameful, therefore we have no need of such modesties." She handed him his glasses, and he quickly shoved them on his face.

"No, it's, ah, it's fine. I understand." His eyes immediately searched out Sam. Her hair had been brushed out and slicked back with scented oils, and her vest, jacket and boots had been removed.

"You will find your clothing for this evening on the bed." Kambria continued, "The red garments are for evening wear, and the white togas are for the daytime. We hope that these will be acceptable for the duration of your stay with us." She swept her arm towards the bed, and bowed her head slightly. "Oh, yes, thank you." He bowed back rather haphazardly, and quickly padded across the room, glancing over at Sam as the other women ushered her from her seat and over to the bath.

Daniel rummaged through his pack, searching for his boxers and yanking them on under the towel. He picked up one of the pieces of red fabric from the bed and held it up to his body, trying to work out where it was supposed to go. It was a long, rectangular piece, with gold stitching around the edges, but had no arm holes or neck hole that he could see. Noticing his struggle, Kambria came to his aid, her eyes dancing with mirth.

"Please, allow me, Daniel Jackson." She picked up another piece of crimson fabric from the bed, this one was made of a lighter material and did have a hole for his head. "Just Daniel is fine." He muttered as she slipped it over him, securing the little ties at the sides, and he let his towel drop, much more comfortable now that he was at least covered to the knees. She took the thicker fabric he had first picked up and wrapped it around his hips, looping it up over one shoulder and across his chest and securing the end with a round gold brooch that bore the engraving of a sun.

She fiddled with the fabric, adjusting how it sat on his shoulder and smoothing any wrinkles from his chest. She stepped back to admire her work; her laughing brown eyes met his, and Daniel just now noticed they were flecked with gold. They were so warm and full of light, and reminded him painfully of Sha're.

"Minister Kambria?" One of the young girls stepped out from behind the half-wall with an air of nervousness. "Please excuse me, Daniel. Your friends shall almost certainly be ready now too. We shall meet you downstairs when Samantha is ready." She bowed, and swept over to where the girl was waiting and disappeared behind the diagonal wall. Daniel took a few steps in their direction, his worry for Sam driving him, but he was concerned that if he approached any closer it would be seen as inappropriate.

He hovered undecidedly, craning his neck to see a little further around the wall. He could just make out the top of Sam's head in the bathtub; one of the women in red was soaping up her hair. She didn't seem to be in any type of trouble or distress, so he eventually followed Kambria's advice and went downstairs, trying to ignore the irrational pit of worry that gurgled deep in his belly.

He plopped down on the couch and dragged his fingers through his damp hair, trying in vain to comb it into some semblance of neatness. He noticed two pairs of leather, Roman-style sandals by the coffee table; one pair that looked about his size, and the other considerably smaller. He picked up the larger ones, slipping his feet into them and trying to work out how the straps wrapped around his ankle, when Jack and Teal'c entered.

"Well, it's a little breezy down there, but, all in all, not too shabby, eh?" Jack spread his arms out, twirling on the spot to show off his new threads. Daniel scrunched up his nose. "You're not wearing underwear?"

Jack paused, blinking at him. "Wait, you are?"

'~*~*~*~'

Kambria circled the one named Samantha Carter as the woman sat, hunched in the warm water, her knees pulled up to her chest. The Minister knelt by the tub, folding her dress carefully beneath her. She studied Samantha's face, examining the tension and the wariness in her expression. She reached out one dainty finger to brush along the scar that ran down the side of the woman's face.

"Oh, sweet child, what kind of man would do this to one such as beautiful as you?" She whispered quietly, pausing when Samantha flinched away from her touch.

"Not a man." The Earth woman breathed. Her strange blue eyes met Kambria's gaze, and the Minister almost gasped at all the pain and suffering, the agony, the torment, the grief that she could see, swirling in the blue expanse.

"A monster."

'~*~*~*~'

It was almost half an hour later when Sam finally descended the stairs, and Daniel almost choked on his own tongue. She was a vision in red; her dress, like all the other women, draped over her body like it was a part of her. The semi-sheer material hung from the low-cut neckline to her ankles, and when she moved, it breezed around her like mist. Her sleeves joined only at the elbow and wrist, leaving her shoulders and most of her arms bare. A woven, gold-painted leather belt cinched her waist, making her figure seem fuller; almost the way it used to be. Her golden hair was intricately braided, strands of tiny white flowers and coloured ribbons woven through it.

Jack let out a low whistle. "Wow Carter, you clean up nice."

Daniel didn't dare trust his voice right now, so he remained silent, blushing when she caught his eye and smirked; clearly the desire was evident on his face. He turned away, hoping no one had noticed his reddening cheeks.

"Please, if you will follow me." Kambria breezed past them, and SG-1 fell into line behind her, the other red-clad women bringing up the rear. Daniel automatically fell into step beside Sam, glancing often at her out of the corner of his eye. He knew he risked being caught staring at her, but Jack and Teal'c were ahead of them and, at the moment, he didn't think he could muster the willpower to look away. She caught one of his glances and smiled up at him, and Daniel felt his heart swell almost painfully in his chest.

They ascended the stairs through the last two rings and followed the gently sloping path up to the crest of the hill, the glinting gilded temple rising into view. The top of the hill levelled off, and the path was intersected by two circular ones; one that rounded the perimeter of the flattened area, and another halfway to the temple. The temple itself cast an eerie orange glow even as the rest of the sky dimmed, as if a portion of the sun's light and warmth had been captured in its tall pillars.

On the grass between the two circular paths stood a series of curved tables that wrapped right around the hill. Men and women dressed in their red robes traipsed up and down the stairs, lading the tables with plates of food and jugs of drink. The women who had followed behind them immediately set about helping.

The scene reminded Daniel of Abydos, of the nights spent sharing the evening meal with the other Abydonians, listening to them talk and interact with Sha're at his side. He could still picture her face staring up at him, her warm, brown eyes wide with adoration. Unconsciously, his lips pursed a little; that had always made him somewhat uncomfortable, the way she and the other Abydonians had thought of him as something special, some sort of savant to be revered.

He felt something warm brush against his knuckles and he glanced down as Sam's fingers just barely whispered between his before her touch was gone again. He shifted his eyes to her face but she was staring stoically ahead, but Daniel didn't need to hear her words or see her face to understand her thoughts. He touched his fingertips to hers, taking silent support from the contact.

Cato approached them with quick steps, and Daniel clasped his hands in front of him, shifting away from Sam ever so slightly. "Ah! Welcome! Welcome!" The Minister clapped his hands, grinning gleefully. He turned to Kambria, and took one of her hands in both of his. "Thank you, sister, for preparing our guests." They kissed on both cheeks, then Cato motioned energetically. "Come, come! Please, take a seat at our table."

Daniel took a seat next to Sam, and Teal'c and Jack sat across from them. Kambria took the seat next to Daniel, and Cato, Gratia, and another man that they hadn't met before joined their section of the table. He was shorter and more robust than all the other Solarians they had seen so far, and though his eyes and hair were the familiar dark shade, Daniel could see that the man's hair was thinning on top.

"Friends, allow me to introduce you to Magnus, a student of Astrology under Kambria, and one of the Keepers of the Temple. He has volunteered to show you around the Temple after the feast, should you so wish it."

"That would be great, thank you Magnus." Daniel nodded at the man, who beamed back at him.

"It would be my great honour, Daniel Jackson."

The long tables soon filled up with Solarians of all ages, and the light, lilting tones of a flute-like instrument played somewhere nearby. All kinds of dishes were passed up and down the length of the tables, some of which looked vaguely familiar, others like nothing Daniel had ever tasted before. Ceramic jugs of a sweet, aromatic wine were passed along, and between Cato and Kambria, none of their mugs were ever empty.

They discussed Solarian politics and philosophy, agriculture, education, technology. They traded stories of their conquests and adventures through the Stargate; exploring distant worlds was how the Solarians had gained much of their knowledge, going so far as to adapt beneficial traits of other cultures into their own. Though Daniel seemed to be doing most of the talking, he gladly noted that Sam was much more forthcoming than she had been the last time they had been in such a group social setting, and even Teal'c chimed in on occasion, sharing his unique perspective of the Jaffa peoples and the Goa'uld. The Solarians had of course heard of the Goa'uld, even visited planets that had been, at one time or another, enslaved by them. But, as Daniel had suspected, Solis had remained untouched by the parasitic creatures.

As they had promised, the Solarians were extremely forthcoming with the details of their civilisation, and had promised to show Sam and Daniel a great deal more in the morning. Daniel lent back in his chair, his hands soothing his swollen belly. He had tasted a slight spice to the wine, and it filled his chest with warmth and made his skin tingle with heat. He smiled to himself in dazed amusement and glanced around, blinking owlishly as the world spun across his vision.

It took him a moment, but when his eyes focussed, he noticed that many of the Solarians had left their seats. In fact, it seemed as though many had paired off, dancing a jig to the flute-player's tune, strolling the circular paths hand in hand, lying in the grass gazing up at the stars, stealing kisses in the moonlight. Daniel squinted. Actually, that looked like a lot more than kissing. And now that he was really looking, that stargazing couple were definitely doing more than just spying constellations. In fact, some of these couples weren't even couples. Groups of three or four rolled around on the grass in various states of partial undress. Another man joined the stargazing couple and they gladly accepted him into their embrace of entwined limbs.

His face suddenly burning with a heat that had nothing to do with the wine, Daniel knocked his knee into Sam's. She blinked up at him, roused from a conversation that involved Teal'c explaining to Cato that 'fly-fishing' was a Tau'ri sport that did not actually involve catching any fish, and Jack attempting to correct him with great annoyance. He twitched his head to their left, and she looked over her shoulder to stare at what he had seen. She turned back to him, her eyes wide and disbelieving and pink dusting across her cheeks. Her mouth twisted, and Daniel could tell she was trying to contain her laughter. He bit his own lip, swallowing the chuckle that threatened to escape his throat.

"Ah, Magnus? If you wouldn't mind, perhaps we could have that tour of the Temple now?" He tried his best to keep his voice normal-sounding and not betray the fact that they were aware there was a literal orgy going on around them.

"Of course, my friends! Come, come." Daniel and Sam followed the shorter man into the temple, trying to keep their gaze firmly ahead and not on what was happening around them. They quickly skipped up the few steps to the golden shrine, finally hidden away from the debauchery in the safety of the temple walls.

"This temple was the first permanent structure to be built by our ancestors, back when our city was nothing more than a series of huts." Magnus grinned happily as he led them through the golden temple, and Daniel had to quickly school his features into that of solemn thought.

The walls were painted with images of star maps, constellations, and historical figures, some of which Daniel recognised as ancient Roman gods. The walls were lit from beneath by a thin strip of light that ran along the floor, illuminating the murals and casting a pale glow across the room that sent their shadows dancing along the ceiling. Fascinated, Sam dropped to her knee to study the light source more closely, muttering something about phosphorescent crystals.

Daniel brushed his fingers over the relief of a bearded, toga-clad man who held a staff in one hand. The wine had warmed his whole body and left him pleasantly light-headed, and his embarrassment of a few moments ago had already faded away. "These figures, they are of your gods?" Magnus stood at his side, his eyes also landing on the painting that Daniel was studying. "We do not believe in gods or goddesses, as our ancestors once did, but we do believe in truth, and wisdom. These figures are the personification of the beliefs and principals on which Solis is founded. Jupiter represents leadership; justice, truth and fairness above all things."

Magnus moved down the wall to another figure, this one of a woman clad in gold-detailed armour, her shield and spear held aloft. "Minerva represents wisdom and logic; she reminds us to be steadfast in the face of uncertainty."

The Keeper strode across to the opposite wall, stopping before another figure of a partially nude woman. As Daniel drew closer, he could see her body and features had been perfectly carved to represent the optimal standard of beauty. Her curled hair was piled high on top of her head, and her arms were spread wide, welcoming all to her bosom. Magnus reached out and very gently brushed a finger along the curve of her foot. "Venus reminds us that love is the greatest of all things, and that a life without passion is no life at all."

Magnus then gestured to the male figure that stood next to Venus. This depiction was also nude, and just as handsome and just as perfectly carved. His dark hair curled down to his shoulders and a wreath of laurel leaves crowned his head. "Apollo represents harmony; the great balance of all things, and all things in moderation. There are many virtues represented on these walls, and each of their stories teaches us a lesson. Come!" Magnus quickly changed tack, energetically motioning them both towards the wide staircase at the end of the temple; the golden steps split in two near the top and curved away from each other.

"You must enter the Hall of Stars." Magnus declared, swooping his arm out toward the gleaming stairs. "This is where Kambria and the other students of Astrology conduct most of their work." He continued as Sam gathered the hem of her dress in her hands and began to climb the stairs. Daniel was about to follow suit, when Magnus' hand on his arm stopped him. "You arrived at a most auspicious time, Daniel Jackson. Venus is in first decan rising." The smaller man's dark eyes twinkled as his grin widened. "Perhaps you should make the most of it." He patted his arm, then turned on his heel and strode away.

"Wait, er, what? Where are you going?" Daniel stared after Magnus' retreating form, his mouth hanging slightly open. He frowned, shaking his head at the strange man as he climbed up the stairs. He didn't know much of anything about astrology, so he had no idea what any of that meant. The only things he knew about Venus were in relation to the Roman goddess of love, beauty, sex... Oh.

His train of thought was suddenly derailed when he saw Sam standing in the glow of the moonlight. The second level had no walls or ceiling; the stars blanketed the midnight sky, casting everything awash with pale light. Four pillars were lined up in ascending height order on the diagonal to each of the four corners, so that they almost formed an 'X'; and Sam stood in the centre of them. The white effulgence backlit her figure, making the sheer material of her dress translucent. Daniel could clearly see the contours of her breasts, the shape of her hips, the outline of her calves, her thighs, the apex of her legs...

Daniel's breath caught in his throat. Her face was tilted up to the sky; her soft expression bathed in the moon's glow. He hadn't seen her look so at peace in the last six months. No, longer than that, really – in years. The years they had spent fighting and failing, one battle after another, had taken its toll on all of them. None of them were the same as they had once been. But right now, in this moment, Daniel could almost forget about the Goa'uld and the Replicators and all the horrors they'd endured over the past seven years. He could almost forget all the torture and suffering, the death and destruction, the lives he'd taken, and the lives that had been taken from him. Right now, she looked so young, her face as hopeful and full of wonder as it had been the first time he saw her on Abydos. He could still remember the way her eyes shone, alight with excitement when he first spoke with her – he remembered the tug he felt in his chest as their connection formed; a deep and instantaneous bond. He wondered then, if that is what love at first sight felt like. And he wondered, if he had not been with Sha're, would he have allowed himself to feel the true depth of that connection? Had it only been his sense of honour and loyalty to his wife that kept him from exploring that feeling? If that was true, then, had he been in love with her since the very beginning?

No, he didn't want to think about that, he didn't want to dishonour Sha're's memory; but his mind was hazy, and the realisation was slow to leave it. Daniel didn't even feel his feet moving, but he found himself drifting towards her, pulled by an invisible thread. The wine in his belly lit him on fire; his chest and face felt hot and his skin tingled with warmth. He stood behind her and tilted his head down, blocking her view of the night sky. She leaned back against him, her head resting on his chest, and Daniel's fingers trailed up her bare arms.

"Where did Magnus go?" She glanced toward the staircase, suddenly worried that the short, balding man would be standing there, ready to bust them. Daniel lowered his head to nuzzle her neck, "Back to the feast, I think." Her scent was as heady and intoxicating as the wine; her hair smelt of lavender and roses and her skin was so soft and smooth and sleek with oils. He pressed his lips along her bare shoulder and up her neck, his tongue darting out to taste if her skin was as sweet as it smelled.

Sam's head lolled to the side, allowing him greater access, and she let out a breath that was almost a sigh. Daniel's hands dropped to her hips, his palms smoothing over her sides, her belly; her silky dress cool against his burning skin. He snaked one arm across her waist, pulling her firmly against him, and he heard her sharp inhale as his other hand cupped her breast, his thumb brushing over the already firm peak. He found her pulse point and suckled at it, and the moan it elicited from her made all comprehensive thought impossible.

A tiny voice in the back of Daniel's mind was telling him that something was off; that they were on a mission and shouldn't be doing this, that they would be caught, that he wasn't in control. But the voice was drowned out by the deafening rush of his desire as he spun Sam in his arms and crashed his lips to hers. He was aflame; burning alive like the millions of balls of gas above them. Her skin was just as hot against his, like a match to dry parchment as their hands grasped at clothes, skin and hair, and their mouths and tongue and bodies tangled and twined.

He stumbled forward a few steps, pressing her back against the closest pillar. He felt her hands slip his boxers down over his hips, and he kicked them away as he bunched up her skirts in his hands, his palms sliding over her soft, smooth flesh. It was so easy to hook her legs around his hips and slide into her. Is this why the Solarians were clothed as such? He didn't have the brain capacity to dwell on it; he was moving within her and he could think of nothing else, speak of nothing else, feel nothing else but the fire that consumed them.

They were like wild animals; acting on nothing but their fierce desires, their lust, their pleasures. There was no sense of time or place; no shining city, no Stargate, no SG-1. There was only carnal need, something raw and hedonistic, something ancient and archaic that consumed and devoured them both. He grasped at her thighs, the soft flesh of her ass, needing to be closer still, even as each thrust of his hips pinned her firmly between his hard body and the stone pillar. Closer still, as two became one, melding together under Venus' glow.

At some point, Daniel found himself on his back; the stars swayed and spun blurrily as he gazed up at the night sky, and Sam's naked flesh shone luminescent, bright as moonlight as she undulated above him, her dress bunched around her waist now. He found his hands reaching for her, cupping her exposed breasts and he cried out, his drawn-out moan lost to the universe as Sam threw her head back and howled at the moon.

Daniel wasn't sure when they had finally finished, or even how many times; he only became aware that they had collapsed together in a heated mess of sweaty limbs and heavy breathing. Slowly, his mind seemed to float back to him, clearing as he orientated himself with his surroundings. His head felt heavy as he lifted it to glance down. Sam lay partially on top of him, her legs entwined with his. He could tell by the way she pursed her lips that she was just as baffled as he was.

Sam sat up, pulling the fabric of her dress around her to cover her bare chest. Daniel searched blindly for the gold pin that held his clothes together. He found it near the pillar and struggled for a moment, trying to adjust the fabrics back into their original positions. Sam was fully dressed when he turned around to face her, tugging self-consciously at the hem of his toga – he had failed to locate his boxers.

"I don't-"

"That was weird, right?"

"Erm, yeah, I mean, kinda. I mean, it wasn't _weird_ weird – it was great. Kind of...really amazing actually. I just meant, y'know..."

Sam snorted, a slow grin crawling across her face at his ramblings. "Yeah, I got it. Weird." She frowned then, absently trying to smooth her messy hair back into its braid as she looked out over the city where shouts and raucous laughter could still be heard. "Do you think that's why people were...acting that way before?"

Daniel ran his fingers through his own long hair, trying to comb it into submission. "Could be. Though it's hard to tell what's normal and what's not around here. I assumed they were just drunk, but it could be that there was more to that wine than just wine. I did feel rather...good?" He shrugged, watching as Sam gave up and undid her braid – there was no saving it; the ribbons were bunched up in the strands, the flowers crushed. Wincing, Daniel moved closer to help her with the worst of it, picking smooshed flowers from her hair and detangling the ribbons. She smoothed it back, tying it into her normal low ponytail.

"Well if we were affected, it's likely the Colonel was too. Maybe even Teal'c. We should go find them before it's too late."

They hurried back down the stairs and out of the temple; Daniel glanced over at the table where they had been seated, but neither Jack nor Teal'c were anywhere to be seen. They ventured around the outer path, searching for a familiar face among those they passed, yet trying not to look too closely.

Suddenly, Daniel spotted a lone figure up ahead, sitting on the grass on the slope of the hill. "Jack?"

"Colonel!" Sam called out, dashing forward the few steps to his side. "Are you alright?"

"Heeeey Sam! Danny boy! There you's guys are." He slurred, stumbling to his feet with great effort, the cup in his hand sloshing wine everywhere.

"Sir, we may have been compromised. We need to get you back to the room. Where's Teal'c?"

"Ooh, Sam, you don't have to ask me to come to your room twice!" He chuckled, grabbing Sam by the waist and pulling her into his side. Daniel forced his hands to relax, and not ball into fists at his side. He swallowed down the sour taste of jealousy.

"Jack, listen. We think there might have been something in the wine, we need to find-"

"Yes! Wine good!" He sloshed his cup at Daniel, forcing him to jump back to avoid red liquid staining his front.

"No, Jack," He bit out, his frustration getting the better of him, "wine bad." He grabbed the cup, wrestling it out of the older man's grasp and tossed it down the hill.

"Hey." Jack protested half-heartedly, pouting. Sam was prying his grip from around her waist, hoisting his arm over her shoulder instead to steady the swaying team leader. Daniel grabbed his other arm, and together they half marched, half dragged him down the stairs towards their rooms.

About halfway down, they spotted Cato and another, equally handsome man, walking hand in hand. "Cato!" Daniel called out. "Have you seen our friend Teal'c?"

Cato turned to them, a lazy smile crossing his tanned face as his lover wrapped an arm around his waist. "Ah, yes. I saw him a while ago. He was very willingly volunteering to accompany three young ladies to see the fountains." His smile widened into a grin, and he winked, turning away to continue his stroll with his partner.

Sam and Daniel exchanged a look. It was too late to save Teal'c. They stumbled their way down the steps, dragging the Colonel through the dining room and into the living room, and dumping him on the couch. Daniel bent over, hands on his knees as he panted heavily, and Sam rubbed at the stitch in her side as she tried to get her breath back. It wasn't even five minutes before deep snores emitted from the unconscious Colonel.

"Well, he's going to have a hell of a headache in the morning." Daniel deadpanned. Sam snorted, a wry smile twisting her mouth. "Hopefully Teal'c turns up fine."

Daniel smirked. "I'm sure he's, ah...enjoying himself." Sam chuckled, biting her lip as she grinned up at him.

He turned serious, his expression transitioning into one of concern. "How are you? Are you...okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," She nodded, "I feel fine. Like I never even had a drink, really."

"Hmm, me too." Daniel frowned rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "Do you think it's, ah, safe? For us to sleep in the same room?"

Sam shrugged, her blue eyes, sapphire in the dim light, twinkled with mirth. "As safe as it always is, anyway." She moved past him, ascending the stairs to the bedroom. Daniel grinned to himself. He patted the drooling Colonel on the head, then followed her up to where the ginormous bed awaited them.


	6. Aqrabuamelu

**Chapter 6. Aqrabuamelu**

* * *

"The Second Ring holds all knowledge of liquids and solids born of the land. You can see along this section are the names and descriptions of all rivers, lakes and oceans on this planet. A little further ahead, we will see all manner of wines, oils, nectars and balms. Come along!"

Sin, the renowned Vizier of Wisdom, strutted along enthusiastically, leaving SG-1 scrambling to catch up. He was a tall man, on par with even Teal'c, though much leaner and with a mop of curly dark hair, and handsome, as all Solarians were. His simple white toga was embellished with gold embroidery, signifying his higher ranking.

Jack's gaze continually sidled over to Teal'c. The Jaffa had mysteriously reappeared this morning with a pleased smirk on his face and had refused to answer any of Jack's pointed questions. Jack was now sulking.

"Ah, here we are." They came to a section in which small square cut-outs were carved into the wall, each niche holding a jug of different shapes, sizes, and colours. "This row contains a selection of wines and oils from all over the galaxy. We have also collected many potions and poisons from many different planets; we have remedies for every kind of ailment and sickness. There is no ill health in Solis."

Sam stood with her nose about an inch from the wall, studying the descriptions of the potions and scribbling furiously in her notebook. She had already filled up at least half of it with notes from the First Ring; an entire wall filled with mathematical equations and scientific formulas, some of which hadn't even been invented on Earth yet. Daniel had to practically drag her away to keep up with the tour. She glanced up at Sin. "Would it be possible to take a small sample of a few of these potions back with us? I would love to get this into my lab for study."

Sin bowed his head, the charming grin splitting his face as his arms spread wide in offering. "Of course, Samantha Carter. It can be arranged." He moved to pluck a purple painted urn from the wall, close to where Sam was standing. "You may find this one especially interesting. We have found it to be affective against most viral agents." He offered the urn to her and she took it eagerly, her face alight with excitement as she studied the vessel's writings. Sin moved in close to her, his spine curving as he bent to point to a particular part. He was murmuring quietly, so Daniel could only just make out something about vectors and antigens, but his hand glided over the small of her back and Daniel felt his hackles rise.

"Daniel!" A familiar voice called out his name, shaking him from his growing urge to break something, and Daniel spun around to find Kambria moving briskly towards him. "Daniel, I believe these are yours?" Kambria held out a neatly folded pile of blue and white checked material. Oh.

Daniel felt his entire face heat up, all the way from his neck to the tips of his ears. He quickly took the article of clothing with a muttered thanks and shoved them down inside the covering of his toga. But clearly, he hadn't been fast enough.

Jack wolf-whistled. "Daniel, you dog!" The Colonel chuckled, clapping the archaeologist on the shoulder. Daniel fought the urge to flee; silently praying to a god he didn't believe in that the ground would open up beneath him and swallow him whole.

Horrified, he turned to Sam, eyes wide and pleading. She was biting down on her lip, clearly fighting back laughter – she was certainly not about to come to his rescue.

"Daniel, may I speak with you a moment?" Kambria pulled his attention back to her, and he gladly shuffled after her a few paces away from the group, resisting the urge to glance back at Sam and Sin. Daniel mentally shook himself; this was not a good colour on him.

Kambria lowered her voice. "I must ask; did you and Samantha Carter complete the Rite of Venus in the Hall of Stars last night?"

Whatever Daniel was expecting, it wasn't that. "Err, I-I don't know what you... I mean, we w-were...together there, last night, if that's what you mean."

"And you lay with her?"

"I-um, well..." If it were possible, Daniel's face was turning even more red; he felt his ears burning.

Kambria clasped him by the shoulders, an unrestrained grin spreading across her face. "That is most wonderful news!" She planted an impassioned kiss on both his cheeks. "Your child will be a most blessed one, to be conceived on such a momentous occasion."

It took Daniel a few moments to recover from the shock, and he spluttered hopelessly. "Wh-ah, wait, w-what?" He blinked rapidly, adjusting his glasses on his nose as if that would help him hear better.

Kambria frowned at him, her head tilted in confusion. "You are not pleased by this news?"

"N-no, it's not that-it's not that I wouldn't want... I just, um, I mean, these things a-are not certain and it-it would be impossible to know..."

"May I see your hand?" Kambria held out her hands for his, ignoring his ramblings.

"M-my hand?" He squeaked, even as he unintentionally did as she requested. She took his hand in both of hers, her head bent over his palm as she studied it intently.

Baffled, he glanced back at the team, slightly perplexed to see Sam glaring in his direction, her eyebrow raised. At least she was no longer paying attention to Sin, he supposed.

"Hmm, I see." Kambria gave the back of his hand a pat, then abruptly released him.

He was about to ask her what, exactly, she had seen, when there was an explosion of shouting and movement nearby. All heads swivelled in the direction of the kerfuffle, and Daniel's frown deepened as more than a dozen armed soldiers marched down the main path, two abreast.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jack queried, his interest piqued for the first time since interrogating Teal'c this morning.

"I do not know." Kambria answered distractedly, also frowning at the soldier's progression. She strode off, marching quickly over to the procession. Shrugging at his team, Jack hurried behind her, Sin and the team following.

"Aurelia! What has happened?" The woman bringing up the rear did not pause, nor slow her pace to give her answer, and they were forced to jog to keep up. Daniel noted her armour and shield were more handsomely decorated than the others, and assumed she must be some sort of general or leader.

"It's the Aqrabuamelu! It has taken one of the farmer's boys, Atticus!" Kambria stopped short, the shock clear on her face.

"I will inform the other Viziers." Sin intoned, his expression suddenly drawn and solemn. Whatever was going on, it must be pretty serious for the charming Sin to not be smiling. The woman, Aurelia, gave a sharp nod and they both departed, Sin's long legs carrying him quickly up the stairs and out of sight, and Aurelia followed after her soldiers, disappearing beyond the next Ring. Stunned silence ensued.

"The hell is an Aqua-ma-boo?"

"Aqrabuamelu, Jack. It's an ancient mythological creature said to be half-man half-scorpion." He turned back to Kambria, stroking his chin as he thought. "But its origin is Mesopotamian, and they were generally considered to be benevolent. How did it get here?"

Kambria shook her head, confused. "I know not of which you speak, but it is certainly not a creature of myth. The monster has haunted the forest for as long as our history recalls. It sleeps for many years at a time, but it awakened last harvest season and has taken some of our livestock. Do not fear however, it has never dared to come close to the city – you will be safe within these walls."

"Fuck that – there's a kid missing out there!" Jack threw his hands up in the air.

"I think what Jack means to say is, we'd like to offer our help, if you'll accept it. Our weapons are very effective, and we have a lot of experience in battle."

Kambria placed her hand on his shoulder, and offered him a sad smile. "You are all very brave." She nodded at Jack. "Solis thanks you. I will go inform Aurelia. Meet us at the city gates."

They parted ways, and a hushed air fell over SG-1 as they hurried back to their temporary accommodation. They shed their clean, white togas and exchanged them for battle-worn BDU's in silence. Daniel felt the familiar dark cloud wash over him ominously, as it often did before they rushed into a dangerous situation. He glanced over at Sam, and a cold feeling gripped his insides as thought of her once again venturing into a perilous forest.

Weapons in hand, they hastily marched to the gate where Aurelia and half a dozen armour-clad soldiers awaited them. Aurelia reached out to grasp Jack's arm in a warrior's handshake. "The city of Solis thanks you for you aid, warriors of Earth. Come. We must catch up to the others. They are tracking the monster's whereabouts."

They set off at a light jog, the Solarian soldiers marching in neat rows while SG-1 flanked the rear. They soon left the farming huts and stables behind as they ventured further into the countryside, the edge of the dark forest looming ever-closer.

Jack matched his gait to Daniel's. "So, when you say half-scorpion man...what are we talkin' here? The Mummy Returns Scorpion King style?"

"I...don't know. It's possible, I guess. Their depictions in ancient Babylonian text were never intended to be fearsome. They were often sent as messengers, to warn travellers of impending danger, not to kidnap children."

"The creature that the Solarians speak of does not seem to be the same as the one from your history books, Daniel Jackson." Teal'c intoned, jogging alongside Jack in his oddly rigid way. "And it would be arduous should the creature be Mathayus, the Scorpion King, as the only way to defeat him is with the spear of Osiris, which we do not possess." Daniel could only stare at the Jaffa. He never quite knew when he was joking.

"He really liked that movie." Jack shrugged.

The squad slowed as they reached the edge of the forest, and Aurelia took the lead. "This way." She motioned, and they cut through to the left of the tree line. An eerie feeling washed over Daniel, like a cold finger sliding down his spine, as they trudged deeper into the forest. The sun was instantly swallowed by the foliage, leaving the air cool and damp, and it took him a moment to realise that the strange feeling was silence. Their march through the countryside had been soundtracked by the buzz of insects and the twittering of birds, but as soon as they had entered the woods, the air had become deathly still.

Daniel wiped away the sweat beading on his brow with the back of his sleeve, shaking his head to flip his damp hair from his eyes. He pulled the olive bandana from his vest pocket and tied it around his head, smoothing his hair back to keep it out of his face. Sweat prickled and cooled on the back of his neck, and he brushed it away, suppressing a shiver.

His eyes slid over to Sam's perpetually moving form. She hasn't said much during their trek through the countryside, and she was even more silent now. Daniel kept a close eye on her; the further they went, the more she seemed to draw into herself. Whereas before she had moved like a soldier, marching into battle, back straight and weapon held aloft; now she moved like something else, regressing into that half-wild woman that they had found several weeks ago, starving to death on some distant planet.

She kept low to the ground as they scrambled over a rocky part in the terrain, moving on the balls of her feet, one hand in the dirt as the other loosely clutched her gun to her side. They came to a clearing in the dense thicket, and Aurelia silently called halt, her fist in the air. She lowered it slowly, and they crouched to the ground.

Beyond the clearing the terrain shot up into a craggy and crumbling cliff; Daniel could see evidence of recent rockfalls in the scattered piles of rubble. Between two of these piles lay the opening to a cave, darkness yawning out of the void like a rip in space. The soldiers that had gone ahead had the clearing surrounded, their shiny breastplates glinting occasionally from the scant rays of sunlight that managed to filter through.

Aurelia turned to them. "We will try to draw the creature out. There may be a chance the boy is still alive. The Aqrabuamelu does not always eat its prey immediately. We need to distract it for long enough out here for someone to enter the cave and rescue the boy."

"I'll do it."

Daniel's heart suddenly leapt into his throat at the sound of her voice. "What? No, Sam-"

"I'll back Carter. You two stay here and help Aurelia, make sure our exit is clear. And if you can take that thing out, do it."

Daniel turned his pleading look on Sam, but her gaze remained hardened, locked in steely resolve. There was no changing her mind, and any further protest would only raise suspicions. He swallowed down the sour taste in his mouth, and instead turned to Aurelia.

"How will we draw it out?"

"That will be the easy part. The Aqrabuamelu is very territorial; once it knows we are here, it will come of its own accord." She turned her gaze to Jack and Sam. "Beware of its teeth, they are filled with a paralytic venom."

"Don't get bit, got it." Jack nodded once as he stood to move into position. Sam rose to her feet to follow, and she met Daniel's gaze just briefly, before she turned and scurried away.

The pair moved to the edge of the clearing between the trees and the cave opening, and Daniel tried to clear his mind – he needed to be focussed now. Aurelia raised both her fists above her head and paused, glancing to each side to ensure she had the attention of her soldiers. Daniel held his breath as the tension pulled at his chest, his gaze inadvertently wandering to Sam, watching as her body tensed, half crouched in a sprint position. His thoughts suddenly shifted to Kambria's words earlier, and cold dread slithered in his gut like a coiled snake.

Then Aurelia's arms dropped. The Solarians began to bang their spears against their shields, their voices rising above the deafening cacophony as they whooped and hollered. Heavy rumbling came from deep within the cave, like the march of a thousand-strong army. Daniel's grip on his P-90 tightened. The rumbling grew louder still, and Daniel's heart nearly stopped as a horrific creature burst from the ground like a Titan escaping Tartarus, screeching its anger as it barrelled straight towards him.

'~*~*~*~'

Sam's jaw clenched as the monster burst out of the cave, shrieking like a banshee. She heard the Colonel swear behind her. "What the unholy fuck? That is not the Scorpion King!"

No, the creature was not some Hollywood version of a human-arthropod hybrid; it was far more terrifying than that. It was something much darker, something twisted and gruesome, like a version of your worst nightmare. It was hairless and pale-skinned, about the size of an elephant, with beady, sunken eyes that were entirely black. Its skull was almost human-shaped, but it had no nose and no ears, just a bony hole where these things should have been, like the flesh and cartilage had rotted away long ago. Its mouth was too wide, curving back around its head and displaying rows upon rows of jagged, deadly teeth. It had arms; long, bony appendages that ended in sharp, elongated claws, but its legs sprouted from its torso; eight spindly, multi-jointed limbs like a spider. But worst of all was its tail, which was not a tail at all. Its torso morphed into another torso, only this one had no arms or legs, and its spine curved back over the first like a scorpion's sting. It ended in a second head that had no eyes, or holes for nose or ears, but it had a mouth, and, by god, did it have teeth.

Sam barely had a second to breath as it charged out of the mouth of the cave and towards the tree line. The extended abdomen whipped about like a tail, its mouth dripping with inky black ooze as its long, serpentine tongue struck out at an unfortunate soldier, wrapping around him and pulling him into its jaws.

"Go, go, go!" O'Neill was shouting, and then Sam was running. She darted into the cave, pausing for a second as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she moved with surefootedness. She allowed the familiar sensation to flood her body and override her senses, her mind going blank as she let instinct take over. It was an unmistakable feeling, the hunt and the hunted, and one that she was intimately accustomed to.

She moved in silence, her instinct choosing for her the path of least resistance. She could hear O'Neill somewhere behind her; his loud footfalls and the scattering of rocks as he slipped down the steeper parts gave him away, but he had already fallen far behind. _Run, run, run_... And soon she couldn't hear him at all.

Water. She halted, sniffed the air. There was water ahead. She crept closer, slowly. Quiet. A low point in the cave system was filled with water, creating an underground lake. It didn't look deep, but there was no way to know for sure in the darkness. Clusters of rocks and boulders jutted out in random intervals – this was obviously the path the creature took.

Sam sucked in a deep breath of stale, damp air. She shed her pack, left it leaning against the cave wall. The extra weight would only put her off balance. Crouching low, she braced her legs, then exploded forward, landing as lightly as she could on the first section of flat rock. She glanced around, waiting with baited breath for any sign of movement. When there was none, she continued on. Run, leap, listen. Run, leap, listen.

Her feet hit sand when she reached the other side, and she rolled into her landing, springing back up onto her feet. Her ears prickled and she froze, adrenaline in her veins turning her skin to ice as she strained to hear the sound again.

There! A breath. Not far ahead. She crept silently forward, her back against the cave wall. There, it came again – a wheeze, a moan. Her steps hurried, her eyes picked out a dark figure hunched on the ground. Sam licked her lips. It went against all her instincts, but she called out, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hey. Can you hear me?"

The figure didn't move, but it moaned a little louder. Sam crept closer, dropping to her knees at the boy's side. Gently, she rolled the boy over. He was covered in that slick, black ooze from the creature's mouth, and the face beneath it was ashy grey, his eyelids fluttering in semi-lucidity. He couldn't have been older than ten.

"Hey, kid, can you speak? Are you hurt? I'm going to get you out of here now, okay?" She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and wiped some of the goop from the boy's face." His eyes blinked open, his pupils rolling around in his head as he tried to focus on her face. He coughed, and Sam tried to sit him up, propping his back against the wall.

"It's Atticus, right?" The boy's eyes fixated on her at the sound of his name. "Atticus, you're going to be okay, I'm going to get you home, alright?" He clearly couldn't speak, or move, but his eyes grew wide and teary, pleading.

"I'm going to pick you up now, okay? So you have to hold on. Ready?" She didn't wait for the answer he couldn't give. She lifted his arm, hooking it around the back of her neck, then folded herself low to the ground and grabbed his leg, slinging him across her shoulders in a fireman's carry. She pushed to her feet, her thighs straining, the scar on her leg stretching with the effort. She steadied herself when she was upright, shifting the boy until his weight was centred.

Sam made her way back to the lake's edge. She released a slow breath, mentally preparing herself for the return journey. "Alright, hold on Atticus." She murmured, knowing that he couldn't. She leapt onto the first outcrop, grunting as her legs protested against the extra weight. She forced herself on; on to the next landing, and the next.

"Carter? Is that you?" She heard the Colonel call out, his voice echoing across the cavernous rock chamber. She could just make out his figure in the blackness, standing by the lake's edge.

"Yes, sir. I've got him, I've got the boy." She was almost there. Just one more jump. The hair on the back of Sam's neck prickled, and she swung around, her hand on her weapon, her eyes searching.

"What? What is it Carter?"

The water was still, the air silent. There was nothing there. She turned back around, about to brush away her commander's concerns, when it struck.

The creature flung itself out of the water straight at the Colonel with a high-pitched, hissing shriek. It was a much smaller version, only about the size of a large dog or a coyote, and O'Neill swung his gun at it, batting it away from him with a yelp. They both opened fire on the baby Aqrabuamelu, unloading at least half a clip into the creature until it stopped moving.

Panting, Sam stared at the creature's corpse, afraid to take her eyes off it in case it pulled a Daniel. As her heartrate returned to a moderate pace, she leapt across the final gap and gently lowered the boy to the ground, fire shooting up her legs as her burden was released.

She glanced up at the Colonel. "Sir, are you alright?" She frowned when he didn't answer right away. Though it was hard to see in the dim light, his face looked like it had taken on a pale hue, and he held his left arm close to his chest.

"Ahh, no. Didn't follow my own advice." He wheezed, pulling his arm away to reveal a bloody, round bite mark on his forearm.

"Shit." Sam swore, surging to her feet and grabbing the Colonel's arm to inspect the wound. "It's not bleeding a lot." Regardless, she went over to her pack, still propped up against the rock wall, and plucked out the bottle of antiseptic and trauma bandage. She doused the area liberally with the antiseptic, glancing up at his face with a frown when he didn't flinch or complain like he usually would. Experimentally, she pressed her nail hard into the soft part of his hand. Nothing.

"Sir, can you feel this?"

There was a long pause, then a quiet, "No."

Sam's mouth pressed into a thin line, and she quickly bandaged the wound. She knelt by the boy, hefting the child into her arms and cradling him close to her chest as she stood. "If we hurry, we might be able to make it out of the cave before the paralysis sets in, from there, we can get you back to Solis. The city will have an antidote, I'm sure of it."

"Right," The Colonel grunted, cradling his left arm with his good one. "Lead the way then, Major." They set off at a jog, Sam leading them through the darkness, not caring now how much noise she made; the only objective in her head now was to get everyone out safely.

She glanced over her shoulder when the Colonel began to lag behind. Both his arms were swinging freely now, and he stumbled along at an awkward run. She slowed to let him catch up. "Colonel?"

"It's spreading." He murmured. She could hear the wheeze in his chest.

Sam tried to make her voice sound positive. "Hold on sir, we're almost there. Just a little further." She lied, shifting the weight of the child in her arms. They continued on, but they didn't get much further before the Colonel finally collapsed.

He shimmied his way over to the wall, flinging his back up against it. "Carter, I can't." His breath came in sharp gasps, his arms hanging uselessly at his sides. "Legs are going numb. Hard to breathe." Sam knelt by his side, bracing the boy against her leg to give her aching arms a break. She worried at her lip, glancing from the half-conscious child in her arms to her commanding officer.

"Go." He croaked, his head listing to the side. Sam nodded once and struggled back to her feet. "I'll be back for you," she promised, "don't move."

"Ha. Funny." He muttered as she turned and sped away.

"I'll be here!" He called out after her, but she was already gone.

'~*~*~*~'

Daniel wiped someone else's blood from the side of his face. He heard the creature screeching somewhere in the distance. Most of Aurelia's forces, and Aurelia herself, had chased after the wounded monster, wanting to finish it off once and for all. Only a handful of soldiers remained, tending to the wounded and the dead.

Daniel wiped his hand on his pants and hobbled over to Teal'c, favouring his aching hip. There would be a beautiful, blooming bruise there tomorrow, he just knew it.

"Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter have not yet returned." Teal'c observed without looking at him, his eyes still scanning the trees for any sign of danger.

"I know." Daniel hobbled straight past the Jaffa and into the mouth of the cave. "I'm going after them."

Teal'c easily matched his pace, his Ma'tok at his side like a cane. "Is that wise, Daniel Jackson?"

Daniel shook his head, his weapon half raised as he peered into the dark hole. "Does it matter?"

The cave sloped down, and he moved cautiously over the loose rocks, blinking rapidly as his eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness. The mouth of the cave had almost disappeared from sight when Teal'c stiffened beside him.

"Footsteps." He warned, and soon Daniel heard them too. It sounded like they were running. Bracing himself, Daniel's finger hovered above the trigger, and Teal'c aimed his staff weapon into the black void.

Sam's pale face came into view in the dim light, her skin streaked with sweat and black dirt, a mud-covered child cradled to her chest.

"Sam!" Daniel shouted, relief washing over him. He immediately safetied his weapon and ran to her. He wrapped one arm under the boy, helping to support his weight as she gently lowered him to the ground. He went with her, his free hand reaching out to quickly brush the damp strands of hair from her face, his eyes searching over her for any obvious signs of injury. "Sam, are you alright?" His blue gaze locked with hers, sternly commanding the truth from her.

"Where is Colonel O'Neill?" Teal'c queried, searching the dark depths for the one SG member that had not yet appeared.

"There was...another." Sam panted, gasping down huge lungfuls of air. "Baby Aqrabuamelu. We killed it, but...the Colonel's been bit." She shifted forward, transferring the child's listless body into his arms.

"Here, Daniel, take him! I have to go back in-"

"Sam, wait." He manoeuvred the child across his lap as she stood with shaking knees, inhaling deeply to steady her breath.

"Get him to the city, he needs an antidote."

"Sam..." He lifted the boy into his arms with ease and stood, his gaze boring into her as she fretted.

"We need to get him out of there. If there's more of them..."

"Sam..."

"Teal'c help me-"

"Sam, wait goddammit! You could be pregnant!"

Sam's head snapped around to face him, her eyes widening in shock before her expression changed to one of confusion and disbelief. Teal'c's head turned slightly towards the pair, his eyebrow raised; the only indication that he'd heard the revelation.

Locked in an identical cobalt gaze, Daniel tried to decipher her thoughts; he could see them turning over in her mind, but he couldn't quite read them. Finally, her expression softened, her devastatingly blue eyes pleaded with him, begging him to understand.

"It's Jack. I have to."

Anger and despair flooded through Daniel with equal intensity. He closed his eyes against the pain that speared through his heart like molten metal; against his greatest fear.

"Go." He ground out, his voice rough. He opened his eyes to see she still hadn't moved. "I've got the kid, go." His words were stronger now, and he jutted his chin toward the inky blackness. Her gaze lingered on him, even as she back-pedalled away, until finally she turned from him, loping back into the dark abyss she had come from. Teal'c jogged after her, and Daniel turned back towards the light, cradling the small child close to his chest as he pushed the twisting snake in his gut further down.

He ran out into the clearing, into the light. His brain was yelling at him to get to the city, that this child needed help, but something held him there, feet frozen to the ground. That invisible string tugged at his chest.

"Hey! Help!" He yelled at the nearest soldier, sprinting over to where two Solarians were helping a third injured one to his feet. The man closest to him turned at the desperation in his voice.

"We got the kid, the farmer's boy." Daniel dropped to his knees at the man's feet and cradling the boy in his lap. His eyes were closed and his round face looked even paler than before. Heart in his throat, Daniel pressed two fingers to his neck to check for a pulse. Still strong.

The soldier knelt before him, studying the boy's face.

"He needs medical attention. I have to... My friends are still in the cave. One of them got bit. I need to go help them. Can you get him back to the city?" The words tumbled out of Daniel's mouth; his distress evident in his voice.

The soldier nodded, quickly wedging his arms under the boy's knees and shoulders. "Yes, of course, with haste. Rescue your friend. He will need the antidote also." He took the boy from Daniel, scooping him up into his arms. Daniel muttered his thanks as the soldier turned and set off into the tree line, heading in the direction of Solis. Daniel started back to the cave, his feet scrabbling over the loose shale and his heart pounding as he descended into the void's yawning maw. He would not be left behind – not again.

Darkness enveloped him as he stumbled blindly down, not waiting for his eyes to adjust. His feet slipped and slid over the uneven gravel, and he was forced to catch himself more than once. The ground levelled out, and he blinked hard as his vision acclimatised. The silence pressed down on him, and he strained to hear any signs of movement over his own heavy breathing and thundering heart.

He scurried deeper into the abyss, wanting desperately to call out, but was afraid the reply would not be human. Fear made sweat trickle down his back, and he was flooded by a wave of relief when he heard familiar voices up ahead.

"Sam? Jack?" He called hesitantly.

"Yes, we're here." Sam's voice wafted over to him, soon followed by her face. She and Teal'c supported a lifeless-looking Jack, hanging like a ragdoll between them.

She looked exhausted; her face drawn and pale, and damp with perspiration. He moved to her side. "Here, Sam, let me take him." She didn't argue, merely bowed out as he slipped Jack's limp arm around his shoulders.

"Thought I told you to get the kid home." She muttered, but with no real venom in her voice.

"One of the Solarians took him back to get help. He's going to be okay. So will Jack once we get him back to the city." He could feel the relief radiating from her.

"Guess you never were too good at taking orders." He could hear the smile in her voice and grinned. Jack gurgled in agreement beside him.

They dragged Jack's dead weight up the sloping mouth of the cave and out into the light, squinting from their sudden blindness. They lumbered through the forest, back the way they had come. Sam kept pace a few steps ahead of them, her gun drawn, just in case.

Sweat dampened the bandana across his brow as they trudged along silently, and his shoulders were beginning to ache from the strain. He was about ready to drop Jack where they stood and take a breather, when he heard it.

That horrifying, ear-splitting screech split the sky, and all three heads whipped around to search the trees behind them. It had sounded close. Too close. Frozen, Daniel glanced at Teal'c, then to Sam. She was a few paces ahead of them, and up on an inclined outcrop. She was staring straight over their heads, at something Daniel had yet to see, but the fear on her face was a pretty good indicator. Her eyes met his, wide, as she whispered.

"Run."

They ran, half carrying, half dragging Jack along between them. Daniel mentally apologised to the Colonel – he would certainly have a few cuts and bruises in the morning. That is, if they didn't all get eaten first. He caught glimpses of Sam sprinting through the trees ahead of them, speeding away faster than he ever could, even without the extra dead weight. _Good_, he thought, _at least let her get away_.

He heard the thundering of the creature's many feet, louder and louder, until the ground vibrated beneath him. He heard the splintering of wood as it crashed through the forest, and the fainter shouts of men and women giving chase. It let out another shriek, so close that it reverberated through his entire body.

Daniel ducked as the creature burst through the trees directly to his left, sending bark and branches flying. "Oh shit!" The tail-head whipped around towards them, snarling and snapping its deadly jaws. He felt its tongue brush against the back of his shirt as he and Teal'c threw themselves and a defenceless Jack down into a gully to avoid its bite.

He winced as Jack faceplanted hard into the dirt. He scooped up one arm, Teal'c grabbing the other as they hauled ass down the dried riverbed. The Aqrabuamelu slid down into the ravine behind them, its long legs skittering down the steep sides, sending dust flying. Daniel could taste copper on the back of his tongue as his heart smashed against his rib cage, the muscles in his arms and legs and shoulders screaming. But he couldn't stop. He had to keep going.

"Hey! Ya big dumb insect! Over here!" An all-too-familiar voice screamed. Daniel chanced a glance upward. _No!_ Sam was backpedaling alongside the edge of the gully, wildly waving her arms in the air. The creature lunged towards her, its spindly hands grabbing for her, but she was just out of reach. It would have to decide who to chase.

Sam made that decision easier for it.

"Fire in the hole!" She yelled, pegging a small, round object at the monster's feet. Daniel instinctively ducked as the explosion rocketed behind them. Debris flew past, small pieces hitting them in the back. He heard the creature screech in agony. A quick look over his shoulder revealed its left side was burned and blackened, and it was now down to seven legs. It was not dead, however. Just angry.

It reared up, shrieking, as it scrambled back up the side of the ravine.

"I'll lead it away from the city! Go!" She turned, sprinting now, as the nightmarish creature gave chase.

"Sam!" Panic-stricken, his grip on the Colonel fumbled for a moment, and he paused, hoisting Jack's arm more firmly around his shoulders. He watched on uselessly as the creature scuttled away from them, roaring its displeasure.

"SAM!" He screamed, feeling like he was about to vomit up his heart, but she was already gone. He stood, frozen to the spot, and heard the shouts of the Solarians grow louder and then fade away, trailing off in the same direction as Sam.

"Come, Daniel Jackson, we must continue on." Teal'c reached across Jack's back to grip Daniel's elbow, bringing him back to the here and now. They stumbled along; Daniel's lungs and chest were burning, but not entirely from the physical exertion. His mouth tasted like blood, and he wanted to spit it out. He wanted to scream, to cry, to rage at the unfairness of it all. But all he could do was keep going. Keep going. Keep…


	7. Kismet

**Chapter 7. Kismet**

* * *

_Run._ Dart this way. Jump that log. Faster. He's coming, He's coming, He's…

_Run._ Be silent. Be swift. If He hears you, He'll see you, if He sees you, He'll catch you, if He catches you…

_Run._ Run, little rabbit. Do you want to die? Faster now. Don't stop. Don't look behind you. Run. _Run._ RUN.

Lost in the woods. Running through the forest. The same trees, always the same. Running for her life, again. Running from _death._

_No._

She didn't want to run anymore.

Sam spotted a rocky outcrop of boulders ahead that led up to higher ground. She darted up the steep incline, fumbling in her vest pocket for her last grenade. She pulled the pin and ducked down, her knuckles white as she tightly held the lever down and waited. She could hear the creature drawing closer, the ground shuddering under its powerful legs. She closed her eyes and forced her breathing to slow; steady. The thundering footsteps grew louder, the vibrations stronger.

Wait.

Breathe.

The creature screeched, almost on top of her now, and she moved. She spun, her head poking up from between two boulders to locate the Aqrabuamelu. Her arm cocked back, her brain automatically calculating trajectories; she took aim and threw.

Sam ducked, curling up into a ball and throwing her arms protectively over her head as a fireball lit up the sky. A wave of heat rolled over her and horrific shrieking filled her ears as debris rained down on her, battering her back and hands.

She raised her head as the smoke cleared, peering over the improvised dugout. It was flailing about, wailing hopelessly. Most of its body was charred and dripping black goop; the savage tail end appeared out of commission, scorched and still smouldering. Its few working legs tried fruitlessly to lever its massive body off the ground, its hands clutched at the dirt, dragging itself stubbornly forward towards her.

Sam scrambled over her rocky hiding spot and stalked towards it, her P-90 raised and aimed at its grotesque face, ready to finish it off. She squeezed the trigger, and the creature lunged with unanticipated speed. Its talons wrapped around her ankle, whipping her feet out from under her. She hit the ground hard, her head smacking painfully against something, and her vision swam in white as her volley of bullets swerved upward through the foliage.

The creature reared up above her, snarling and snapping. Its jaws opened; rows of sharp teeth bore down on her, dripping in black saliva. Sam threw her arms uselessly over her face and squeezed her eyes shut.

_Daniel… Forgive me._

"ATTACK!"

Sam heard a series of thuds above her and dared to crack open an eye. The creature's wailing faded into a gurgle as it swayed, then finally collapsed into its side and moved no more. Its abdomen was littered with arrows and spears, and Sam sat up, lowering her hands.

Aurelia stood up on the rise, grinning down at her. Some of her soldiers moved down to inspect the creature, ensuring its death was valid. Aurelia bounded over and offered Sam her hand. She took it, the warrior woman helping her to her feet.

Her head spun wildly, and she was grateful that Aurelia's hand remained firmly clasped around her shoulder. Her head throbbed, and she winced when she touched her fingers to the back of her skull. They came away bloody.

"You are injured." Aurelia's concerned face swam in front of her vision. "Sit back down." She ordered, and Sam very willingly complied.

"Laelia! Come quickly!" Aurelia called out over her shoulder, and a young woman with short, curly hair came running. "Her head is injured."

Laelia dropped to her knees beside Sam to inspect the back of her head, but Sam was having a hard time concentrating on the two women. Nausea bubbled up in her chest, threatening to overflow, and she closed her eyes against the sensation.

"Here, drink this." Laelia pressed a small glass vial into her hands and Sam downed it, ignoring the sting as Laelia poked and prodded at the back of her head.

"I have sealed and cleaned the wound. The potion shall take effect soon, it will ease your symptoms." Laelia stood, cleaning Sam's blood off her hands.

Sam went to nod, but quickly stopped when she almost vomited the liquid she had just swallowed back up.

"Thank you, sister." Aurelia touched the shorter woman on the shoulder, smiling briefly. "Please see to the extraction." The healer woman bowed her head, then trotted over to where some of the other soldiers were milling around the Aqrabuamelu's corpse.

"Extraction?" Sam grunted, cracking her eyes open a slit as the throbbing subsided. It seemed Laelia's potion was starting to work already.

"The Aqrabuamelu's venom is crucial to the process of concocting the antidote. This kill will replenish our stocks for years to come." Aurelia's head tilted to the side as her gaze roamed over Sam, scrutinising her. "To take on an Aqrabuamelu alone is unheard of. I have never seen such ill-advised bravery. Your deed today will be remembered, Samantha the Sun-Haired."

Sam could only stare blankly at the armoured woman, still not entirely sure she was making sense of the world yet. Taking pity on her, Aurelia helped her slowly to her feet once more, offering her a kind smile.

"Come. There will be much celebration tonight, and you will need time to rest and recover first."

Sam gladly followed after the military commander, already thinking about sinking into the enormous golden bath in their bedroom and not getting out for a few hours.

'~*~*~*~'

"Sam!"

Daniel was standing in conversation with Teal'c and Kambria, but came running, or more accurately, limping hurriedly, over to her when he saw her approach with Aurelia and the other soldiers.

"Thank god you're alright." He breathed, the relief evident on his face. She didn't miss the way his hands twitched at his sides. She could tell he wanted to wrap his arms around her, but refrained from doing so in present company. She offered him a smile instead.

"I'm fine, Daniel, really. Bumped my head, but Laelia patched me up. Why are you limping?" She tried to change his focus unsuccessfully.

"You hit your head? How hard? Concussion?" He moved in close, peering at the blood matted in her hair. His fingers skimmed over the back of her neck, and Sam repressed the shiver his proximity induced. His scent filled her nose; dirt and sweat, old parchment and petrichor – clean and elemental, and uniquely Daniel. She fought the urge to lean into him, weary as she was.

"How's the Colonel?" She asked, ignoring his questions.

"He is well, Major Carter, as is the child you saved." Teal'c drifted over to them inclining his bald head in Sam's direction. "They have both received the antidote and are now recovering."

Sam let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. "Good." She smiled drowsily; Laelia's potion had made her both sleepy and light-headed.

Aurelia and Kambria moved in to join their little huddle. Sam shifted on her tired feet; she desperately wanted to go lie down somewhere. Aurelia clapped her forcefully on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

"Samantha the Sun-Haired, I was just regaling Kambria with your bravery."

"Oh, er, th-thank you, but you really don't have to…call me that." She trailed off as Aurelia began to retell the tale anyway. Only Daniel was still looking at her, his baby blue eyes full of concern behind those adorably dorky glasses. She shot him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

Sam scratched at something sticky and uncomfortable that pulled at the skin of her cheek. Her fingers came away with black ooze on them and she grimaced. "I'm gonna go wash up, excuse me." She muttered quietly, though she was sure only Daniel had heard. She felt his gaze on her back as she walked away.

She retreated back to their little two-storey apartment, her feet dragging up the stairs. She gazed longingly at the enormous bed, the silk sheets beckoning her, but she forced herself to continue past it. She desperately needed to bathe and wash the gross, cloying feeling from her skin.

She sat on the edge of the tub and leaned over to turn the taps on full force. The sound of water battering the bath was strangely soothing, and Sam swirled her fingers around in it, adjusting the taps every now and then until the temperature was just right. She stood, toeing off her dusty boots and stripping off her filthy uniform. She fingered through some of the glass bottles on the shelf that she had seen the girls use the day before. She sniffed the contents of a few, admiring the different colours. She found one that smelt vaguely floral, lavender maybe?, and poured the liquid into the bath.

She turned off the water and stepped in, slowly easing herself down into the tub, allowing her skin to get used to the temperature; just shy of scorching. Perfect. Sam sighed as she let her head fall back against the tub, then winced and sat up when she was sharply reminded she had cracked her skull there.

She scrubbed at her face, washing away the grime and allowing the steam to open up her pores. She gently pulled the tie from her hair and attempted to wash out the dried blood. Mildly successful with that, she turned over on her stomach and rest her chin on the tub's edge, allowing her body to float blissfully free and sooth her aching muscles. Her eyes drifted close, and she was so content, wrapped in the water's warmth and the scent of lavender, that she didn't immediately notice someone else's presence.

"Samantha the Sun-Haired, please forgive my intrusion."

Startled, Sam flinched awake, sending water sloshing over the side of the tub and smacking her knee.

"_Ow._ Oh, Kambria, it's fine. Just…just Sam is fine. Has something happened?"

The Minister stood before her, dressed in her red garments for the evening, and holding a corked amphora in her hands.

"No, everything is well. I merely came to offer you something."

Sam stared at the clay vessel in her grasp, its surface painted with abstractly humanoid figures dancing around a tree with branches that connected to its roots.

"What is it?"

Kambria knelt by the tub as she had done the day before, seemingly unbothered by Sam's nakedness. "It's a medicinal oil, discovered on a distant planet. It will reverse most superficial damages, cicatrise, or disfigurement."

"Oh." Sam's fingers absently traced over the depression of the scar along her face; her own disfigurement, and not her only one.

Kambria held up the amphora for Sam to see, gently swirling the liquid inside the jug. "With this, I can heal your physical scars, but…not your mental ones." She reached out, gently grasping Sam's chin between two fingers and turning her face toward her. "But, I think there is one who can." She released Sam's face and pulled out the stopper in the vessel, pouring a little of the oil into her palm and delicately working it across Sam's cheek.

Sam's brow pulled together in confusion. She was curious, but she wasn't exactly sure what kind of 'help' was being offered, and she didn't exactly want someone messing around in her brain. MacKenzie had already probed her thoroughly before letting her come on this mission, and that had been uncomfortable enough. "Who?"

Kambria smiled knowingly, her hands moving to Sam's shoulder and back, deftly massaging the oil into the ruined skin there. She didn't answer straight away, and Sam became so lost in the magical sensation of her warm hands working across her skin that she almost forgot that she had asked a question.

"Daniel Jackson." She rubbed the oil down Sam's arm and over the circular scar on her side, ignoring her sharp look. She took Sam's hand between both of hers, turning her palm up to study it.

"Your hands are the same; almost identical." Her finger traced the line that curved around the base of Sam's thumb. "You have both experienced great personal loss and trauma in your lives." She skimmed over the creases in her palm, fingering each line like she was reading braille. "You are both intelligent and use your knowledge to the benefit of others, but your emotional growth is stunted. You both put the happiness and wellbeing of others above your own, even if that is to the detriment of yourself. You are afraid…" Sam yanked her hand away, not willing to hear any more. She cradled it to her chest, her thumb brushing over the lines the woman had just touched. Kambria continued, unperturbed.

"It is very rare, but it happens on occasion. Two people with identical divinations are said to have a very special connection; one that transcends time, space, even physical body. You are connected, in more ways than you think; your souls are fated." Kambria turned back to her task, lathering more oil over the large burn scar above Sam's knee.

"I see a path for you, Samantha Carter; all that you desire – happiness, love, fulfilment...family." Sam stiffened; her chest felt tight. "But this path, you must choose for yourself."

Kambria paused to replace the cork back in the amphora and set it aside. She looked up, transfixing Sam with her honey-eyed gaze. "Only he can heal the damage done to your heart; to your soul, do you understand? He can help you, Samantha, but you must first let him in."

Sam closed her eyes, shutting out the prickling sensation under her eyelids and shutting out the emotions that she was too scared to feel. Her fear overwhelmed her, crippled her. And it wasn't just the fear of her nightmares, of pain, of small spaces with no exits, of dark forests and waterfalls and black, metal faces with soulless eyes. No, her greater fear was loss, was grief, was loneliness. Far more than her own demise, she feared his death. She feared that he would die, and she could not save him, and she would lose him all over again. And she feared she could not bear that pain a second time.

Kambria laid a hand on Sam's shoulder with a soft smile. She stood, collecting her amphora before bidding Sam farewell and departing with a swish of red.

Sam sunk back down into the water with a sigh. This was not something she wanted to dwell on. In fact, she had been actively trying not to think about it, going so far as to swear Daniel to secrecy about their relationship, all so she could avoid answering the inevitable question. She was afraid of probing too deeply, afraid of what she might find, afraid that she would delve into the black hole of her feelings and be swallowed whole.

She was a coward. Face off with an Aqrabuamelu? Sure, no problem. Survive being hunted for six months? Check. But admit her feelings for a certain archaeologist? No, no she couldn't. She didn't dare. If she did, then…then that's when it would happen. That's when fate would strike.

Sam's dark musings were interrupted when she heard someone else's footsteps clunk up the stairs. These people really needed to invent doors. She craned her neck to peer around the wall, keeping low in the tub in case it was someone she didn't know, or worse, Jack.

The tension released from her body as Daniel approached, hands in his pockets and a mischievous smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. His gaze roamed over her body.

"Want me to join you in there?" He grinned, trying not to sound too hopeful. Sam was sorely tempted, but no, that wouldn't do. Especially after what she had just been thinking about.

"We really shouldn't. You shouldn't even be up here. What if Teal'c walks in? Or if the Colonel wakes up and comes looking for you? It's bad enough that Kambria seems to have somehow figured it out."

"I just checked on Jack, he's dead to the world. And Teal'c seemed very interested in Aurelia's battle stories."

Sam chewed on her bottom lip. His argument was rather convincing; the thought of his naked body against hers even more so. She didn't respond, but instead moved down to the other end of the bath. He accepted her silent invitation, removing his glasses and pulling his t-shirt over his head. The muscles in his arms and chest rippled and flexed as he undid his belt, and Sam sunk a little lower, the water lapping at her chin, as his trousers pooled on the floor, followed by his boxers.

She gasped, but probably not for the reasons he was hoping for.

"Daniel! Your leg!" A nasty, purpling bruise was already seeping through his skin, stretching from his hip to mid-way down his thigh.

"Oh, yeah. Had to dive out of the way of that weird tail-tongue thing. Landed on a tree root. Wouldn't recommend it."

He hopped into the bath, grunting when he had to lift his bruised leg over the side of the tub, and Sam winced empathetically. He lowered himself down into the water, taking care not to put too much weight on his injured leg. He watched her watching him, noting how her knees were pulled protectively up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them.

"Come here." He motioned softly, offering her his hand. She hesitated a moment; a voice in the back of her mind screaming that she shouldn't be doing this on mission, that it was unprofessional. But his eyes were so sincere, so trusting and open, that she couldn't help but be drawn to them. Plus, she'd already let him in the tub anyway.

Slowly, she moved to his side of the bath, his hand guiding her as she turned to rest her back against his chest and position herself between his legs. His arms wrapped around her middle, holding her close; safe and secure. She sighed, letting her head drop against his shoulder, a wave of tiredness washing over her once again.

"You scared me today." He murmured, his breath ghosting across her neck; his lips were so close to her skin she could feel their heat.

"Sorry." She mumbled, forcing her eyes open. "I know it wasn't my brightest plan but…all I could think about was getting that thing away from you." She turned her head, craning her neck to look up at him. Blue on blue; the colour of the sky and deep as the ocean. She fell down that rabbit hole and saw herself reflected there; a mirrored image. Is this what Kambria meant?

Daniel leaned forward to capture her lips, soft and slow and sweet. He pressed a kiss to her nose, brushing back her wet hair. "I was worried about you, walking into that forest, I didn't want to leave you, to lose you in there. I was afraid, this time, I wouldn't be able to get you back." His eyes were haunted, and she was the ghost.

She reached out to brush her hand over his sharp jaw. "I'm sorry." She laid her cheek to his chest, her fingers twirling in his long hair; his heartbeat solid and alive. A thought turned over and over in her mind. "Is that why you said that thing about me being pregnant?"

"Hmm? Oh, actually, that was something Kambria said to me. Earlier today, when she handed me my…y'know, well, ah, I guess she…knows, because she said something about us being…together in the temple that night. Something about the Night of Venus? She somehow had the idea that you would...that you were…"

"Pregnant?"

Daniel nodded, looking rather mortified by the whole conversation. And yet, something else sparkled in his eyes when he looked at her. Hope?

"Daniel…" She didn't quite know what to say. "I…she's wrong. I can't be. I have a…the contraceptive implant. All military women do. Well, most. It's, uh…recommended. You know, just in case…if anything were to happen…"

"Oh." His face fell; somehow managing to look both horrified and heartbroken at the same time, and Sam worried at her bottom lip. "I'm sorry." She murmured. She was so far out of her depth here that it made her skin itch. She fought down the urge to flee.

"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have blurted it out like that, especially in front of Teal'c…"

Sam hummed; that could be a complication. "I mean, it's Teal'c, he would probably take it to the grave if we asked him to."

"Sam…"

She huffed a breath. She really didn't want to have this conversation, not here, not now – not ever, really.

"I know, okay, I know. I just…not yet okay?" Her heart was beating way too fast and she couldn't seem to draw enough air into her lungs. The water was too hot, burning her face, making her head spin, and his arms were too tight, holding her down, trapping her. Nowhere to run. No exits.

Sam stood suddenly, almost slipping on the cool tiles as the water sloshed over the sides of the bath at her exit. Her head was swimming; she couldn't think…

"Sam!" Daniel cried, his hands grabbing for her, but she was too quick for him. She danced out of his reach, wrapping a towel around herself. "Sorry, I'm fine, I just…need to get ready for tonight." She flashed him a smile that he didn't buy for one minute.

She threw on her red dress, the thin material clinging to her still damp skin and her wet hair dripping down her back. She shoved her sandals on her feet, dashing down the stairs and out into the open air. She tilted her face to the dying sun, closing her eyes to bathe in its fading glow and just focussed on breathing. Just breathe. Breathe. Why was this so hard?

What was she so afraid of?

'~*~*~*~'

She was avoiding him, he knew. He shot her furtive glances down the table, where she had situated herself between Jack and Kambria, but she never met his eyes. He shouldn't have brought it up, he knew that too. He should have been more careful blurting out Kambria's unfounded prediction. He shouldn't have gotten his hopes up.

Daniel stabbed at the fat, blue vegetable on his plate, letting the conversation flow around him. He knew his brooding was likely obvious – he had hardly been silent since he got here – but he just couldn't bring himself to care. The conversation had almost entirely revolved around the slaying of the Aqrabuamelu; the bravery and courage and daring rescue that became more and more embellished the emptier the jugs of wine became. But for Daniel, it only heightened his anxiety. He saw her again, running into the forest, chased by a monster. Running, away from him, to where he could not follow. He saw her in the forest, wide-eyed and feral; a dirt-encrusted skeleton pointing a blade at his heart. If these were his worse fears being dredged up with each retelling, Daniel could only imagine Sam's were far worse.

He picked at his food until the plates were cleared away, and the sound of music and revelry filled the air. Sam stood, offering an apologetic smile to her dinner companions, but Daniel could see through the hollow expression.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I think I'll retire for the night, I still have a bit of a headache from earlier."

"Sure you're alright, Carter?" Jack turned to glance up at his second in command, wine glass halfway to his lips.

"Yes, sir. Just tired, sir." Sam nodded, bidding goodnight to the Solarians.

Daniel watched her leave. His heart ached to chase after her, to force her to talk to him, but he knew he couldn't - not yet. He had to wait, to avoid suspicion.

"Hey, Danny-boy, you're awfully quiet tonight. What's up?"

Apparently, he was unsuccessful.

"Nothing, Jack. I'm just beat. Probably from hauling your heavy ass through a damn forest."

"Hmph. Makes up for all the times I've had to drag your sorry ass out of the firing line." Jack countered, flicking a wayward grape at the archaeologist. Daniel only scowled at him.

"Anyways, seems like Carter saved all our asses, once again." Jack chuckled, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head.

"Indeed." Teal'c inclined, the slight curve of his mouth indicating his amusement at their banter.

Jack frowned, rubbing at the stubble on his jaw. "Didn't she crack her head? Isn't there some rule about not going to sleep after a head injury or something?"

"I mean, it's not really a rule, exactly, it's more so they can be monitored for-for seizures or palsy or-"

"So, maybe someone should go check on her then, y'know, just to be sure." Jack interrupted his rambling, taking a long swig from his glass. Frowning, Daniel glanced back and forth between Jack and Teal'c as they both looked to him. "Oh, erm, I guess I can just..." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, grasping for the words. "I mean I'm pretty tired anyway so I'll just..." He trailed off, his linguistic brain failing him. He forced his feet to walk, not run, away from the awkwardness.

Jack swirled the wine around in his cup, watching Daniel's figure retreat into the darkness. "Does he seem, I don't know, weird...er than usual?"

Teal'c eyebrow curved upward towards where his hairline should be. "I do not know what you mean." He raised his glass to his lips and drained it.

Jack leaned forward suddenly, his elbows propped up on the table as he scrutinised the Jaffa. "Do you know something I don't?"

Teal'c paused, his other brow raising to join the first. "Yes. A great many things."

Jack rolled his eyes and scowled, flopping back into his chair.

He didn't see Teal'c and Kambria exchange a conspiratorial glance.

'~*~*~*~'

"Hey." Daniel stood awkwardly at the top of the stairs, watching Sam, sat at the vanity, brush out her hair. She glanced at him through the mirror's reflection before turning back to her task.

"Hey."

_Still avoiding the subject, then._ He shifted on his feet, unsure of the right words; the right thing to do. The silence stretched on until he was wishing he had never followed her up here. He felt the sudden need to occupy his hands. He moved to take a seat on the cream chaise lounge, folding and unfolding his hands.

He sighed, feeling more lost than ever. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I don't mean to push you, Sam. I know you wanted to take things slow, I just..."

He expelled an exasperated breath, running his hands through his long hair and probably messing it up terribly. "I just, I feel...shitty." He finished lamely. He looked up, surprised to find Sam had stopped brushing and was staring at him through the mirror, like an equation she couldn't figure out.

Swallowing hard, he forced himself to finish. "And I know it's my fault that Teal'c probably knows, but that will mean Jack is the only one who doesn't know, and, even though things have been a bit...tense between us lately, he's still, unfortunately, my best friend and I'd rather he didn't accidentally hear it from someone else that we're…that I kinda...stole his girl, you know? I'd rather-"

"His _what_?"

_Oh. Oh no. Angry eyes. Back up, back up quickly..._

"I-I mean, I don't know the details of what went on between you two, and I don't want to know, I just meant-"

She was standing now; her hands on her hips and her face stern and guarded, golden hair flowing around her like an avenging angel. "Daniel, nothing _happened_ between us. He's my commanding officer."

Daniel felt his temper spark, rising to the fore like oil in water, and he stood to face her. "Oh, come _on_, Sam. I was there during the Za'tarc incident. I'm not an idiot."

Her steely, measured gaze pierced him like icicles through his chest. Then she sighed, and turned away from him, and Daniel suddenly didn't know what to do with his anger. More than anything he wanted to go to her, to comfort her, to hold her in his arms and tell her he loved her. His feet remained rooted to the spot.

"Fine, maybe there was something, or at least, the possibility of something." She was pacing now, biting the nail of her thumb as she glared down at the floor. "But I soon realised it wasn't real. The closer I looked the more I realised I was fooling myself. Yes, I care about him, of course. The same way I care about Teal'c, or you. But I was never _in_ love with him."

A weight that Daniel hadn't realised he'd been carrying around suddenly lifted from his chest. He had subconsciously already resigned himself to a lifetime of competing with Jack, always knowing that she'd loved him first. Now, he fought to keep the elation from his face; the shadow on his heart lifted.

"So, is that...is that how he feels too?"

She stopped pacing then, and turned to face him. "I...don't know." She shrugged, "We never spoke about it again."

Frowning, Daniel wrapped his arms around himself, comforting himself in the way that he had always done ever since he became an orphan. It would be an awkward conversation, no matter how Jack felt, and one he wasn't particularly looking forward to, but... "We owe him this much, Sam. We owe him the truth."

Sam closed her eyes, the anguish clear on her face. She shook her head furiously from side to side. "No, Daniel, you don't understand. They can't know."

"And why not?"

"Because…because then will be _real_."

"I see." Daniel said quietly, his voice on the verge of breaking. His heart dropped into his sandals. Was that the real reason, then? Were her feelings for him only as real as her feelings for Jack? Which is, apparently, not real at all? He thought he could do this, he thought he could be whatever she needed, whether it was a friend, a lover, or something more, but damn, this _hurt._ He didn't want to hide his feelings anymore, stealing secret kisses and brief touches wherever they could, he wanted everyone to know that she was his, and he was hers. But it was becoming clear that Sam didn't feel the same way, and maybe she never would.

Daniel turned away, unable to look at her anymore for fear of totally breaking down. He was losing her. He screwed his eyes shut; the pain made his chest ache. He was losing her, and he couldn't stop it.

"Daniel…you don't understand…"

Daniel took a deep breath, anger and despair bubbling up in his chest like acid and spewing out his mouth. "Then explain it to me, Sam! Explain it to me, because you're right, I don't understand! I don't understand – I have no idea how you feel, and it's _killing_ me!"

Sam looked up at him from behind wet eyelashes, and when she spoke it was a barely above a whisper.

"That's just it, Daniel. That's what I'm afraid of." All his anger deflated at the fear and vulnerability in her eyes, leaving Daniel with an aching hole in his chest. He couldn't stand it. He crossed the floor with quick steps, going to her and gently taking her into his arms.

"What, Sam? What are you afraid of? Tell me."

She shook her head, her face rubbing against his robes. "It's stupid," she muttered, "and…and illogical, and…"

"Sam." He murmured, pressing his lips into her hair and holding her a little tighter.

She took a gulping breath, her face buried in his chest, before she pulled back to look up at him, the unshed moisture in her eyes making them sparkle. "I...I'm cursed, Daniel. It's the curse. I've heard them say it. Black Widow Carter." She closed her eyes briefly, a single tear escaping from the corner, and Daniel cupped her cheek in his hand, brushing the drop away with his thumb. When she opened her eyes again, she kept them trained on his chest, her brows pulling together in a tiny frown as she forced the words out. "Loving me…or being loved by me is dangerous. Every man I've ever loved has died. Jonas, Martouf and Lantesh, Narim, even Orlin, and…you."

She glanced up, her watery blue eyes meeting his, and Daniel felt his heart stop. His breath caught in his lungs until he was forced to gasp for air. "Me?" He breathed, hardly daring to believe in case none of this was real. Sam pulled away from him, instead moving to stand before the golden windows that looked out over the fifth ring. The moonlight caught in the loose tendrils of her hair, giving her an ethereal glow. Daniel kept his distance, wanting to go to her but knowing she needed the space.

"I told you I liked you when I first met you. But you were already married, so I pushed any attraction I had for you far, far away. And then we became friends – best friends. And I was happy with that. But then when you died, Daniel, I felt like I had died. And I knew that it hurt far too much, cut far too deeply, to mean only friendship."

Daniel inched forward, moving to stand behind her. He restrained himself from touching her, but remained close enough so that she knew he was there.

"Somewhere along the way… I'm not even sure when – I guess I fell…felt something more than friendship, and that's why you died." She turned away from the window to face him, the dim light turning her eyes a darker shade of sapphire. "I mean, obviously I know that's not _why_ you died; there would be an infinite number of intersecting paths, inevitable events, and arbitrary choices that led to that outcome, but deep down, I know that's why _you_ died. It was me. It was because I…because of how I felt about you. So when you came back, I tried not to feel it, because I didn't want to lose you again. I can't lose you again, Daniel. And yet, here we are, and now I'm afraid...afraid that history will repeat itself…that the curse will take you away from me. For good this time."

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, and she ducked her head, brushing them away angrily. Daniel reached out to curl his finger under her chin, lifting her head up to meet his gaze. He brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear, then gently took her face in both hands, bringing it close to his. "I'm not going anywhere, Sam." His thumb stroked over her cheek, willing her to believe. "I don't ever want to be anywhere that you're not. I will do everything in my power to never leave you alone again, I promise you this. I'm here, Sam, and I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here."

She fell into his open arms, and he held her tight, her body shaking with silent sobs, and when he screwed his own eyes shut, he felt the wetness leak out from behind his glasses. He swayed with her in his arms, clutching her like he was afraid she would disappear, his hand in her hair, crushing her to him. "I love you, Sam. I'm not leaving. I love you, I love you, I love you." He whispered over and over again like a mantra, pressing kisses to her golden hair.

She pulled away to look up at him, her face wet and her eyes rimmed red, and still the most beautiful thing Daniel had ever seen.

"I...I love you, too."

Daniel's heart felt ready to burst. And maybe it already had because his skin felt tingly all over, like he just been hit with a Zat gun. He couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face. His breath caught in his throat and he kissed her, his mouth capturing hers as if he hoped to taste her words, and his hands caught in her hair, drawing her in. Their mouths moved as one, taking and consuming one another, their kisses becoming more passionate and needy. Their hands roamed each other's bodies, grasping at skin and clothes.

He shuffled back until his knees found the edge of the chaise and he fell down onto it, dragging her with him. His hands gripped her waist, the warmth of her skin seeping through the thin fabric. She pulled at the golden pin that held his toga together; the red material falling away from his torso. Her nails raked down his chest, her lips on his lips, his face, his neck. He wound a hand through her hair, dragging her back up to kiss her thoroughly, plundering her mouth until she was breathless.

He inched her sleeves down her arms, exposing her chest to his hungry mouth. His lips fell upon her, and her head dropped back to stare up at the infinite stars twinkling above their heads. She gasped, her hands gripping his shoulders. "_Ah_, Daniel..."

She rolled her hips, pressing hard against his obvious arousal, and he groaned against her skin. His hands bunched up her skirts, sliding over her backside to knead the soft flesh. He gripped her tightly, the muscles in his legs tensing as he lifted them both and carried her over to the bed, kicking away the toga from around his ankles.

Daniel slowly pulled her dress the rest of the way down, kissing every inch of skin as he exposed it to the warm night air. He discarded it on the floor, then sat back on his haunches to admire her naked body. Her pale skin shone luminescent in the soft starlight, her hair silver as the moon, and her eyes dark as the night sky above. The invisible string tugged forcefully at his heart, and he gasped at the pain, the beauty, the desire.

He crawled back up her body, covering it with his as he stared down into her eyes. His glasses kept slipping down his nose and he ripped them off, chucking them over his shoulder and just hoping he'd be able to find them in the morning. He cupped her face in his hands. "I love you, Samantha Carter." He whispered, kissing her with all the love, passion and devotion he possessed. And Sam cried out, her head thrown back in ecstasy, as their bodies joined.

They rolled across silk sheets, arms and legs entwined as they moved; chest to chest. Sweat slicked their skin, sticking to sheets and each other. Their gasps and moans filled the night air, their cries heard only by the stars that watched on. He sat up, flipping their positions once again as he lowered her down to the bed. He moved over her, around her, within her, faster and faster until he had to swallow the cry of his name on her lips, muffling his own loud groan.

Spent, he dropped down beside her, their chests heaving in the pale moonlight and their panting breaths echoing in the still air. He pulled her close, rolling her body into his. He kissed the salt from her brow, her nose, her lips. She snuggled into his side, her head fitting perfectly into the crook of his neck and his fingers trailed, feather-light, up and down her spine. She sighed, her warm breath ghosting across his bare chest; content.

Daniel couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. Her naked body draped across his, bathed in the moonlight and pleasurable afterglow; he'd never seen anything more perfect. And she'd told him she loved him. Daniel's heart swelled; his chest so tight he wondered if he was about to have a heart attack. What a way to go. Jack would have a field day.

He wrapped both arms around her and settled down, tucking his chin and burying his face in her hair. He inhaled her scent of lavender and the sharp tang of sex. "Sam?"

"Hmm?" She didn't open her eyes.

"I think...you broke it."

Her eyes flew open, her hair tickled his chin as she shifted to look up at him. "What?" She asked, a note of panic in her voice.

"_My_ curse." She continued to stare up at him, her brows puckering in confusion. "The only two other women I've ever loved were taken over by the Goa'uld. You as well, but you're still you. You were stronger than that; you've always been the strongest of us all and I... I think I need that. And maybe...maybe I can be that for you too. I may have died, but I'm not dead now. I came back to you. And I will always fight to come back to you."

She blinked away the glimmer in her eyes and stretched up to kiss him. He returned it with enthusiasm, and soon their slow, tender embrace became more passionate and prurient. Their tongues danced, teasing and tasting, teeth pulling at soft lips. His hands stroked her supple skin and she rolled across him, her leg sliding over his. She broke from him and sat up, her weight resting comfortably across his hips. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders in silver waves and his fingers traced her curves in reverence, admiring the way goosebumps erupted across her flesh and her nipples hardened at his touch. His body responded, twitching against her backside.

"Already?" She quirked an eyebrow, smirking down at him.

He shot her a devilish grin. "What can I say? You have a certain _effect_ on me." And he surged up to capture her lips once more.


	8. Venus Rising

**Chapter 8. Venus Rising**

* * *

As the setting sun streaked fire across the sky, their last night of feasting began. The Solarians seemed even more raucous than usual, and wine flowed aplenty as they celebrated. The atmosphere had been abuzz with anticipation all day; even Sin had seemed even more jovial than usual when they met him this morning for further lectures, and he had gifted SG-1 with all sorts of samples and specimens and copies of intellectual works, which was sure to please General Hammond.

Sam sank back into her chair, content to let the rambunctiousness flow around her. She kept touching the side of her face, still amazed that there was now smooth, unblemished skin where the deep fissure of ruined flesh used to be. She noticed Daniel watching her, and quickly dropped her hand back to her lap, embarrassed by her own vanity.

Sam felt pleasantly weightless; like her body was made of something lighter than air. She had been careful not to drink too much of the wine, not wanting to lose her senses completely like last time. Drawn to the music, she hazily watched the Solarians dance across the grass; two swirls of red, coalescing into one. Their feet moved quickly, and Sam struggled to focus on them; red skirts opened as they twirled, opening and closing like a blooming rose bud chasing the sun.

"Would you like me to teach you, Samantha the Sun-Haired?" Sin was suddenly at her side, offering her his hand; his sun-kissed face grinning down at her, revealing perfect, pearly teeth.

"O-oh, er, no, thank you, I'm not much of a dancer." She offered an apologetic smile instead. "And you don't have to, uh, call me that."

"I believe you to be competent in most things, Samantha." Oh no. Somehow, the way her name rolled off his tongue was much worse. "I will go slow. It is easy, trust me."

"I-I don't know..." She glanced around the table, silently pleading for help.

"Go on Carter, it's our last night, you deserve a little fun that doesn't involve magnets." The Colonel shooed at her with his hand, chuckling into his wine glass. She looked to Daniel, but his expression was carefully blank, his measured gaze piercing; she was sure he was brooding internally.

"You will have no difficulty, I assure you. The dance is taught to our children from a young age. Please, let me show you." His proffered hand was unwavering. "Umm," she glanced back at Daniel, but he remained unmoving. What could he do, after all, without raising suspicion? What could she say? She had no more excuses.

"O-okay I guess." She took his hand and he led her to where the flute-player was joined by a lyre tonight, the tune an upbeat bolero.

"First, put your hand here, up high, like this." He stretched her arm up high above her head, their palms pressed together as they slowly circled each other. "Now, we spin." He grasped her hand, twirling her away from him, then back in to his chest, her dress whirling around her like all the other rosebuds. He took both her hands in his, stretching them out to the sides. "Now, put your feet like this; a quick-step this way, that's it! Perfecto." She watched the other dancers, copying their movements until she no longer stepped on Sin's toes.

"You are a quick learner, Samantha." Sin flashed his perfectly white teeth, twirling her around once again. She smiled back, but her eyes trailed over to where Daniel still sat, trying to be surreptitious in his glances in her direction.

She turned back to find Sin's dark eyes boring into her, a sly smile pulling at his lips. "You long for another." It wasn't a question.

"I...I can't..."

"Why not? Surely he desires you. I cannot imagine a man who wouldn't."

Sam blushed, ducking her head. "It's not...that simple."

Sin's gentle smile was solicitous and knowing; "The world may be complicated, but love isn't. We go about our days, shouldering our responsibilities, suffering drudgery, but at night we are free to act out our passions, our desires." He spun her out again, and when he twirled her back into him, he held her close, his chest warm and strong against hers. His head dipped close to hers, forcing her neck to crane back to meet his eyes; "The night is for lovers, Samantha."

He stepped back from her, bowing low over her outstretched hand and placing a kiss upon it. Sam looked over to the table; Teal'c and the Colonel were engaged in boisterous conversation with Cato and two other women, but Daniel met her searching gaze.

She turned away, knowing he was watching, and headed down the western path, giving her other teammates a wide berth. She loped down the steps, holding her skirts in her hands. She had almost reached the fifth ring when he caught up to her.

"Sam!" Daniel called out, jogging quickly down the stairs to meet her. She halted as he approached, waiting for him to say something, to ask if she was alright, or even what the hell she was thinking. Instead he kissed her. She stumbled back at the force of it, and he pressed her up against the smooth stone wall behind them, his tongue invading her mouth. The wine made everything ten times more sensitive, more carnal, more frantic. Her back arched, pushing against his firm chest, her hands tangled in his long hair, pulling him closer, deeper.

He pulled away, panting. "I'm sorry. I just... I didn't know what to do."

"I know." She whispered quietly. Her self-imposed silence was hurting him, and she knew it.

He shook his head, his hands sliding up and down her arms. "I couldn't stop...watching him. With you. All day. And there was nothing I could do about it." He sighed, resting his brow softly against hers, his eyes closing briefly as she stroked her hands through his hair. "I'm sorry," he murmured, "I've never been a jealous person, but something about you, Sam..."

"I know. I know." She sighed, her fingers twisting around his dark strands. "When we get back, okay? When we get back and...and find the right time, I'll tell them. We'll tell them."

Caught off guard, Daniel leant back to stare at her, a gratified grin slowly blooming across his face. "Okay." He beamed, and pulled her in for another kiss.

'~*~*~*~'

"Incredible. There is absolutely no residual scar tissue, subdural or otherwise." Janet turned Sam's face this way and that, pinching and prodding at where the ugly scar on the side of her cheek used to be. "I have to say, if you can recreate this 'miracle oil' in your lab, you'll be my new favourite." She teased, her eyes twinkling.

Sin had been very generous in gifting her with a multitude of lotions and potions and medicinal concoctions. Maybe a little too generous if Daniel's scowling was anything to go by. Or maybe that had been because of the other thing.

_"Farewell, Samantha the Sun-Haired." Sin's large hands framed her face, and his long body bent almost in half to kiss her on both cheeks._

Either way, General Hammond was very pleased with the goods they'd returned with, and Sam couldn't wait to jump into her research – her notebook full of equations and formulas called to her.

Returning her attention to the present, Sam barked out a laugh. "I thought I already was your favourite?"

Janet withdrew her hands from Sam's face and leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, "Shh. Don't tell the others." Sam grinned, and relished in how good it felt to joke around with her friend. It felt normal, like things were finally falling back into place. Her heart felt lighter than it had since even before her MIA incident. There was just one tiny thought that niggled in the back of her mind.

"Hey Janet." Janet paused in her process of filling out Sam's chart and looked up.

"Hmm?"

"It might be silly, but, could you...just check my Rod?"

Janet quirked her eyebrow at the unusual request, but dropped her clipboard on the bed and rolled up Sam's sleeve to examine the area.

"Has it been giving you pain?" She began to palpate up the back of Sam's arm, her fingers gently searching for the implanted device.

"No, I just... Well actually, I haven't gotten my period since...in about seven months."

Janet nodded along, "I'm not that surprised, Sam. You were severely underweight when they picked you up off that god-awful planet. It's quite a common side-effect of malnutrition. I'm sure it's f-" She froze mid-sentence, her eyes widening. Sam panicked, feeling like she had just swallowed a stone.

"What? What is it?"

Janet pressed her finger into Sam's arm, and a sharp pain rocketed up from her elbow to her shoulder.

"Ow!" She flinched away, frowning at the doctor. Janet still looked vaguely stunned.

"It's...broken." She felt for Sam's arm again, her touch more gentle this time.

"What do you mean broken?"

"I mean, clean in half. I've never seen such a thing. It would take...you must have damn near broken your arm, Sam!"

Sam frowned, thinking. Oh. The waterfall. She hadn't been able to use that arm for a number of days after that little tumble. "That may be...not far from the truth." She admitted sheepishly. Janet fixed her with a pointed stare.

"So, ah, what does that mean, exactly?"

"Well, for one thing, it means I'll have to take it out." Janet moved away to rummage around in the medical cabinet, returning with a tray containing a needle, a scalpel, and a few other instruments that Sam didn't want to look too closely at.

"And secondly," Janet continued as she drew clear liquid from a small bottle into the syringe, "it means that, had you had any sexual contact in the time since it happened, then obviously you wouldn't be protected. But at least we don't have to worry about..." Janet trailed off when she looked up to see Sam, pale and swaying on the bed, and the joking smile slid off her face like a fat raindrop down a window pane.

"Sam?" Janet dropped the syringe back on the tray and took her friend gently by the arms. "Sam?" The Major wouldn't meet her eyes.

"Come on, in my office." Janet gently wrapped an arm around her friend and led her from the bed into her private office. She sat Sam in a chair, then turned to lock the door behind them. Janet sat at her desk, taking in Sam's suddenly quiet demeanour, a gnawing feeling tearing at her abdomen.

She paused before speaking; words in these situations were always so hard. "Sam," she began gently, "I know these things can be hard to talk about, but you know that it's regulation that any incidents of... unwanted sexual contact need to be reported to me. Whatever happened, I-"

"What?" Sam's head snapped up, her expression flickering from shock, to confusion, to surprise. "Oh, no! No, no, no, it's nothing like that."

"Oh, thank god." Janet sighed, feeling all the tension rush from her body.

"I mean, it definitely wasn't unwanted..." Sam muttered quietly, but Janet still caught it.

"Wait, what? And you didn't tell me!" Janet lunged forward, her palms slapping against the desk in her excitement. "It's Daniel, isn't it?" She whispered breathlessly across the desk, unable to contain her glee.

Sam's eyes widened minutely. "Wha- How did you..."

"Oh, come on, Sam." Janet leant back in her chair, rolling her eyes at the Major. "I'm not blind. Anyone could see that boy is in love with you. Honestly, I'm surprised it took you so long to realise it."

Sam sighed, deflating back into her chair. "I know." She murmured, so quietly that Janet almost didn't catch it. She took a breath and met Janet's gaze, forcing her focus to remain on the problem at hand. "So...what now?"

"Well, I'll take the damaged implant out and do a blood test now and another in a week. That way we will know for sure. If it all comes back negative, then I can place a new implant – if that's what you want, that is..." She watched her friend shift uncomfortably under her scrutiny.

"Come on," She stood, patting Sam on the shoulder, "there's an 18-gauge needle with your name on it." She chirped, grinning sadistically at Sam's horrified groan.

'~*~*~*~'

"Hey Sam." Daniel strode into her lab with a manila folder in hand and a pleased look on his face. "I have those translations you asked for. Sorry it took me a couple days; the Solarian language is mostly Latin-based, but there's a weird Mesopotamian influence in a lot of these formulations; makes me wonder if that's where it was derived from. Plus, you know mathematical language is not my strong suit." He grinned apologetically and held out the folder.

"Oh, yes, thanks Daniel! This is great!" She grabbed the folder from him and immediately started flicking through its pages, her blue eyes sparkling with that familiar passionate glow. She turned to place the folder on her desk beside her open workbook, already beginning to cross out and recalculate equations. "If I'm right about this, this could drastically change the way we explore the universe."

"Yeah, faster-than-light engines. What could go wrong?" He mocked playfully, smirking when she glanced up at him. He turned and leant against the desk, folding his arms across his chest. He studied her, bent over her work, her black standard issue t-shirt riding up just a little so that a sliver of skin could be seen just above her cargo pants.

Daniel grinned and lowered his voice to a sultry murmur. "What are you doing tonight?"

She turned her gaze on him again, one eyebrow cocked up in annoyance, but he could see her lips twitching, trying not to smile. "I'll be here, working late, like always." She stated, a little louder than necessary.

Daniel shrugged with an air of nonchalance. "Oh yeah, me too." He drifted past her under the pretence of selecting a book from the shelf behind her, but his fingers ghosted across the exposed skin of her lower back, and he smirked at her sharp inhale. He slid out a thick textbook with some ridiculous title – _Inhomogeneous Cosmological Models: A Survey of Possible Inhomogeneous Universes from Solutions of General Relativity_ – and opened it up to a random page. He pretended to read, strolling back over to her desk and bending over the folder beside her, his bowed body hiding the fact that his hand was creeping up under her shirt, fingertips dusting across her ribs.

"Daniel!" She hissed, her tone laced in warning.

"Yes, Sam? What is it?" He raised his head, oozing innocence. His face was far too close to hers to be considered professional.

She caved, backing away from him with a glare. He grinned as her cheeks took on a pink tinge and dropped the act.

"I'll ban you from my office if you're not careful." She threatened, waggling a finger at him. He shrugged, apologising insincerely. He moved away to take a seat on the couch opposite her desk, giving her space to return to her work.

"So, Jack's having another barbeque at his place this weekend." He mentioned casually, picking at a loose thread on the sofa's arm.

"Yeah, I know, he mentioned it to me once or twice." She smirked, rolling her eyes.

"So, you're going then?"

"As if I'd be allowed to miss it." She paused in her work to grin up at him. She dropped her pen and moved around the desk to face him; her expression suddenly apprehensive as she leant back against the cluttered mahogany surface. "Actually, I was thinking..." She chewed on her bottom lip, a clear sign of her unease.

"Thinking...what?" Daniel prodded when she didn't continue.

"Well, since everyone will be there together, I thought...well, I guess it would be a good time to-to tell everyone...about us." She met his gaze, anxiously awaiting his response.

"Really? Are you sure?" He breathed, trying and failing to stop his broadening grin. She nodded in reply and he leaned forward, covering her fidgeting hands with his. "I...should still tell Jack...in private." She nodded once again and he stood, briefly moving in close to her. He tenderly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and bowed his head to whisper quietly into it, "It will be okay, you'll see. I love you."

He backed away and released her hand before anyone could happen upon them. He offered her a reassuring smile, which she half-heartedly returned. He shuffled towards the door, but paused with his hand on the handle. "So, tonight?" He beamed with hopeful optimism.

She smiled, a real one this time, shaking her head at his persistence. "Nineteen hundred hours." She confirmed, leaving Daniel with a spring in his step and a head full of plans for their evening.

'~*~*~*~'

The bounce in his step didn't last long; there was one important thing Daniel needed to attend to, sooner rather than later.

Daniel found Jack in the gym, groaning as he lay on the floor stretching out his bad knee. "Come to hit the weights, Danny-boy? I think you're starting to catch the eye of Janet's nurses. I believe 'beefcake' was the medical term that was used." Jack teased, waggling his eyebrows suggestively and easing himself up off the floor to pick up two dumbbells from the weight rack.

"Er, no." He winced as Jack launched into a set of bicep curls, horrified that anyone was referring to him that way. "Actually, I was looking for you. We need to...talk."

Jack paused, "Daniel, are you asking for a divorce?" He gasped in mock indignation, before returning to his curls. Daniel sighed, already becoming increasingly frustrated with Jack's antics.

"No, Jack. I'm being serious. I need to...to tell you something."

Jack studied him, clearly discerning Daniel's seriousness was sincere as he placed the weights back on the rack and turned his undivided attention to the archaeologist. Daniel tried not to show his relief – he definitely didn't want a 25kg dumbbell thrown at his head.

"Alright, what is it?"

Daniel paused; he'd been going over and over this conversation in his head, had a whole monologue prepared, but now that Jack was right in front of him, the words didn't want to come. "Well, erm, the thing is..." Daniel's arms inadvertently wrapped around himself in the familiar gesture of comfort. "The thing is I-I-I'm seeing someone..." He braced himself, awaiting Jack's reaction.

"Danny, that's great! Honestly, I was kinda starting to worry about you." Jack chuckled, a grin breaking across his face and he clapped Daniel on the shoulder in congratulations. "Is she hot?" He whispered conspiratorially.

"Well, yes, uh, very much so. Actually..." _Here comes the hard part._ "you...know her."

"Well, shit." Jack laughed, "Does she work on the base? Is it one of the nurses? Oh!" Jack clicked his fingers, his eyes widening, "Is it that little blonde nurse with the huge-"

"No!" Daniel choked out, heat rising to his face. "No, it's, uh, not a nurse."

"Well, then who? You're killing me here, Daniel!"

"It's..." J_ust say it. Spit it out, Jackson. Oh god, here goes..._ "It's Sam."

He couldn't meet the Colonel's eyes, and the shocked silence stretched on for an eternity. Finally, Daniel gathered the courage to glance up. The movement seemed to snap Jack out of his stunned reprieve.

"Oh? You and...Sam, huh? That's nice, Daniel. That's... I'm real happy for you guys." He hid behind a fake smile, but Daniel could see straight through it, see the cogs turning in his head.

"Jack, I... I just wanted to let you know...before we told anybody else. I know there was some...stuff going on between you two and-"

"Stuff? What stuff? There is no stuff." Jack had distanced himself, fiddling with the weight peg on the leg press and refusing to meet Daniel's eyes.

Daniel sighed, "I know, okay? Sam told me. But I don't care about the past. I'm not jealous, or angry, I'm just... I just want to know one thing."

"What's that?"

Daniel took a deep breath; he wasn't sure he actually did want the answer to this, but he knew he had to ask. "Do you still love her?"

Jack scoffed, "No."

"Jack…"

"No!" A beat, and then, "What do you want me to say here Daniel? Huh? I don't know. Does it matter now?"

"It matters to me, Jack."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, Daniel!" Jack cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "No, it doesn't matter! It doesn't matter because it never mattered! It never would have worked between us, and we both knew that. We have nothing in common and the…y'know, _feelings_ or whatever, they were never strong enough to do anything about it."

Daniel's heart was racing. He didn't know what to think, what to feel. He had expected this answer, but it still hurt to hear. "But…with the Za'tarcs…what you said…"

Jack sighed, rubbing at the back of his greying head. "Look, like I said then, I do…care for Sam, but there was never anything…more." He waved his arms about wildly, trying to find the words. "We could have, y'know, given it a shot, if we'd really wanted it; we could have applied for special exemption, hell, Sam could do this job as a civilian! But it just never seemed…enough. So, whatever was there is…" He waved his hands like he was shooing something away and shrugged.

Daniel remained silent, unsure how to process this. Jack took a step forward, his arms crossing over his chest as he studied the forlorn archaeologist. "Let me ask you something Daniel. Do you love her?"

"Yes." He answered without hesitation.

"And, if you had to, would you leave the Stargate Program for her?"

"Yes." He was surprised that the response came so easily, but he knew it was the truth. Jack nodded slowly, his dark eyes piercing vibrant blue. "Then you're already a better man than me. And she needs that."

Daniel tensed when the Colonel moved in close, but he only clapped a hand on the archeologist's shoulder. "She deserves better than me, Daniel. She deserves someone who can give her everything. She deserves _you_. And I'm happy for you guys, really." He offered Daniel a rare, sincere smile. "I'm glad it was you, Danny."

Daniel released the breath he didn't realise he was holding, relief flooding through him and making him dizzy. He returned the Colonel's gesture, grasping the older man's shoulder. "Thank you, Jack."

Jack chuckled, slapping Daniel roughly around the back of the neck. "Alright, alright, enough sappy shit; you'll turn me soft." He steered Daniel towards the door. "You know you're still gonna have to bring this up with Hammond, right? I'll put in my two cents but it's his call whether you can both stay on SG-1."

Daniel nodded, pausing just before Jack opened the door. "I know. If it comes down to that I've already decided...I'll transfer teams." Jack studied him for a moment; Daniel could tell he wanted to say something, but ultimately decided against it.

"Well, let's not get our hopes up just yet, eh?" He smirked as he pulled open the door and entered the hallway, giving Daniel a hard pat on the back that almost sent him stumbling. "You're both still coming on Saturday though, right?" It was a question posed almost as a threat as Jack waved a finger in his face, and Daniel grinned, glad that, at least for now, the worst part seemed to be over.

Daniel turned to face Jack, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, we'll be there. That's when we're planning on making the big announcement."

"Oh, goodie." Jack deadpanned, beginning to backpedal as they headed their separate ways. "You better bring me extra beer then!"

"Will do." Daniel nodded as Jack turned away, heading in the direction of the mess hall. Daniel ambled off in the opposite direction, a tiny smile twisting at his lips. He may never know how truthful Jack was about his feelings, but at least he had his, somewhat reluctant, blessing, and that was good enough.

'~*~*~*~'

"Major Carter. Daniel Jackson. I am gladdened to see you both." Teal'c bowed his head at the doctors and stepped to the side to allow them entry. Daniel had to shuffle through the door sideways; an entire case of Jack's favourite beer in his arms.

"Hey Teal'c." Sam paused to envelop the Jaffa in a quick hug while Daniel dropped the case onto the kitchen bench with a loud grunt. "Janet and Cass here yet?"

"Indeed. Doctor Frasier deemed it wise to oversee Colonel O'Neill's charring of meats. I am inclined to agree." Sam grinned at the Jaffa's comment, giving his huge arm a friendly pat. "There is also one other who will be glad to see you." Her interest piqued, Sam started towards the back door, but stopped short when a familiar figure strolled through the doorway.

"Dad!" Sam cried, throwing her arms around the grinning Tok'ra.

"Hey Sammy. You look well." He released her from the embrace, holding her at arm's length to inspect her. "Much better than last time I saw you."

Sam nodded, covering her father's hand on her shoulder with one of her own. "Yeah, I am better."

"Jacob. Glad you could make it." Daniel smiled, offering the man his hand. The elder Carter ignored it, pulling him into a hug instead. "Well, even Tok'ra need a break from the bickering once in a while." He winked at the archaeologist, slapping him on the back.

Jacob turned back to his daughter, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, "So, Teal'c was telling me about a scorpion-man?"

"Mathayus. And he was the Scorpion King." Teal'c corrected, following them as they filed out into the sunlight, and Daniel smiled at the way Sam's face lit up as she laughed.

Opening the cardboard box, Daniel pulled out one of the six-packs and carefully slid it into Jack's fridge. He grabbed two cold ones for him and Sam, and moved towards the sound of laughter and the smell of burning meat.

Daniel paused in the doorway, quietly observing Sam, a soft smile pulling at his lips. She sat beside her father, her hands moving animatedly as she chatted with Janet and Teal'c, beaming at General Hammond when he laughed at something she'd said. Daniel recalled the last time they were here like this; how withdrawn she had been, quiet and anxious, folding in on herself like she was trying not to be seen, not to be heard, not to exist. She had come so far since then. She no longer flinched at loud noises or the touch of another person. She no longer forced herself to take the stairs – though he never missed how she pressed herself closer to him whenever they were in the elevator together. And she hadn't woke up screaming in the middle of the night in almost two weeks. She wasn't quite the same, and maybe she never would be; but she was his, and that was all that mattered to Daniel.

He ventured out into the sun, greeting Janet and General Hammond with a nod and a smile, and returning Cass's hug when she threw her arms around his waist. He silently held out one of the beers to Sam, surprised when she didn't take it.

"No thanks," She shook her head, "I'm a bit...dehydrated. I'll just stick to lemonade." Concerned, Daniel glanced to Janet, but the doctor seemed engrossed in her wine glass. He shrugged; if Janet wasn't concerned then he supposed it was nothing to worry about.

Scrunching his nose up at the charred smell, Daniel leant back against the veranda railing where Jack stood flipping burger patties, and offered the beer to Jack instead. "Cheers." Jack murmured as he took the bottle, popping the lid off with a quick, downward swing against the edge of the barbeque.

"No problem." Daniel replied absently, taking a swig of beer and falling into silence. He picked at the label on the bottle.

"Looking a little green there, Danny-boy. Nervous?" Daniel glanced up at the comment, but Jack's focus remained on the hotplate before him.

"No. No, I was just...thinking, about how much has changed. I never thought... I guess I never thought I'd have this again, not since Sha're. And I never thought that she... that I'd get this far, you know?"

Jack remained silent for a while, turning over the meat with the tongs. "You...loved her for a while now, huh?" He said quietly, not looking up from the grill.

Daniel's eyes were drawn to the back of her blonde head, her hair pulled back into a neat braid, wispy tendrils framing her face as she laughed at something Teal'c said. "Yeah, I have." He barely noticed the slow smile that spilled across his lips.

Jack grunted, "Hey, pass me that tray, will you? I think these are done."

Daniel glanced down at the blackened patties, coated in a crisp layer of charcoal. "You don't say..."

The food was served and the unconventional group of friends ate and drank and chatted and laughed. The sun blazed across the sky, just now beginning to kiss the tops of the trees, and a cool breeze swept east from across the lake, taking the edge off the day's heat. Daniel collected the empty plates, taking them in to where Sam and Janet were stacking the dishwasher. Janet looked up as he entered, shooting him an unwarranted grin, and quickly leaving to clear the rest of the table. Daniel watched her scurry past him with a frown.

He moved in behind Sam, standing close under the pretence of helping her pack the dishes. "Janet knows, doesn't she? She's been giving me weird looks all day." He murmured.

Sam peeked up at him, wincing a little. "She may have guessed, yeah."

Daniel sighed, shaking his head, "Is there even any point to making this announcement now?" Sam shrugged, grinning as she bent to slot another plate in the dishwasher.

"And you're sure Jack's okay with this?"

Daniel fiddled with his glasses, adjusting them across the bridge of his nose. "As far as I know, yeah. I don't think I'll ever get much more out of him than that."

Sam nodded, exhaling deeply as she closed the dishwasher and turned to face him.

"Are you ready?" He asked, briefly entwining his fingers with hers. She nodded again, flashing him a distracted smile, and they both strode back out onto the deck. Daniel cleared his throat, his heart suddenly beating at double time and his hands clammy. He'd always hated public speaking. He'd once thrown up in sixth grade while giving a speech, all over Tony Lahren's desk. Daniel cleared his throat again.

"Ah, ex-excuse me everyone, there's, ah, something I-we should, er, tell you." He swallowed, finding his mouth suddenly dry. He felt Sam's hand slide against his palm, her fingers filling the gaps between his, and he found his voice. "We...er, that is, Sam and I, are, ah, dating."

Daniel held his breath, awaiting the reactions, awaiting the outcry and barrage of questions that never came. The biggest reaction was Cass shooting out of her chair, punching her fists in the air and shouting, "Yes! Yes! I knew it! Yes!" Daniel looked around at a sea of grinning faces.

"Pay up, George." Jacob declared, holding his hand out to the other General. Hammond rummaged through his pockets, his shoulders bouncing as he chuckled, and slapped a fifty dollar note into Jacob's palm.

"Wait, so...so you all...knew?" Daniel squeaked, pushing his slipping glasses further up his nose.

"Oh Daniel, no offence honey, but you weren't exactly hiding it as well as you thought." Janet looked at him with a mix of pity and amusement.

"Indeed. I have suspected for some time that you and Major Carter would be excellent mates."

God, had he really been this obvious?

"Well," Sam spoke up quietly from behind him, "since that didn't get the surprised reaction you were expecting, I have some...other news that might." He turned to her, his brows drawn in confusion. "Turns out, you were right. Or, more accurately, Kambria was right." His frown deepened. He had no idea what she was talking about, and was about to tell her so, when she took both his hands in hers, her deep sapphire eyes meeting cerulean blue.

"Daniel... I'm pregnant."

That certainly got the reaction he had been expecting.

"What! Mom! You didn't tell me that part!"

"Oh Sammy, that's wonderful!"

"Congratulations you two."

"This is indeed most excellent news."

"Well I'll be damned. The kids are having kids."

Noise exploded around him; cheering and laughter and congratulatory shouting, but Daniel felt like a shell had just gone off over his head – his ears were still ringing.

"You...are you..."

"Yes, Daniel." Beaming, she dropped his hands and stepped into him; her fingertips stroking against his cheek, grounding him. "We are." She whispered, and an overwhelmingly powerful wave of joy crashed over him like a shore dump.

Daniel shouted, wrapping his arms around her and twirling her about, her feet flying out from under her. When he set her down again his vision was blurry, but it wasn't for lack of glasses.

"Sam, oh Sam. I don't know what to say." He laughed at the irony, threading his fingers through her hair and pressing his forehead against hers. "I'm so happy."

Their private moment was interrupted as the others gathered around, many hands patting him on the back and congratulating him for a job he didn't know he'd done. Jacob pulled his daughter into a bear-hug, then Daniel, ecstatic with pride. Even Jack looked happy, a dopey grin on his face.

Overwhelmed, Daniel flopped down into a chair, sure that this ridiculous grin on his face was now permanent. Sam sat beside him, her hand sliding into his as she was bombarded with questions.

"How far along?"

"When do we find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I remember when my first grandkid was born…"

"Now, now everyone," Janet held up her hands, shooing them like a flock of seagulls, "it's only early days yet, we won't know details for a few weeks still." But that was all anyone wanted to talk about, and Janet eventually gave up, joining in the baby-mania herself.

As for Daniel, he couldn't quite believe his luck. He walked around for the rest of the night feeling not quite real, his whole body felt made of pins and needles, and his cheeks hurt from grinning so much. Maybe it was true; maybe she really had broken his curse. Maybe the universe was making up for all those times it had kicked him while he was down. He'd survived blow after blow, heartbreak after heartbreak, even death itself, and now, maybe something good was finally within his grasp.

Daniel floated over to where Jack stood, leaning upon the balcony's railing. He studied his friend's face as the Colonel stared up into the night sky.

"Hey, Jack, I'm sorry if, you know…I-I didn't know there was going to be this…"

Jack shook his head, meeting the archaeologist's gaze with a smile. "Don't be. I'm not serious very often, so believe me when I say, I'm so happy for you guys." Jack reached out to grasp Daniel's shoulder, "Children are a blessing." Daniel smiled sadly, knowing the conflicting emotions his best friend must be going through.

Jack patted his shoulder roughly, then turned back to the beer he was nursing. "You'll be a great father, Daniel." He gave the compliment staring up at the stars, the almost-full moon bathing everything in a pale, silver glow.

Daniel glanced up, "You think so?"

Jack chuckled, "Between you and Sam, I have no doubt that this kid will be some sort of super-genius that will take over all our jobs."

Daniel smiled at the thought. He really couldn't wait to teach his child all the things about archaeology and civilisations and language that his parents taught him. Another generation of Jackson archaeologists; he was sure his parents would have loved that. Silence fell over the two comrades, and Daniel debated whether or not to voice his next thought.

"I'm…going to ask her to marry me."

Jack finally met Daniel's gaze, his expression solemn and unreadable, until a wide grin broke across his face, stretching from ear to ear. "Well then I guess I'd better get me a tux."

Beaming, Daniel joined Jack in his stargazing. His heart swelled with happiness, a tight band squeezing his chest. His gaze drifted over to Sam, watching her as she laughed, her face aglow. Perhaps sensing his gaze, she turned to meet it, her dazzling blue eyes all the more beautiful for the love that shone from them. Daniel's breath caught in his throat. She loved him; he was loved. And she was carrying his child. And for the first time in his life, Daniel had hope for the future. For a family. Together.

_**\- Fin -**_


End file.
